-
1200
13th Century China
First case ever recorded using forensic science. There was a murder and the group of workers took all the knives in the town and out them together. One knife had flies come to it from the blood. This is how they prosecuted the individual. -
Mathieu Orfila
"Father of Forensic Toxicology". Known as this because he worked hard to make chemical analysis a common part of modern forensics. -
William Herschel
Used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India. -
Alphonse Bertillion
"Father of Criminal Identification". Developed Anthropometry which uses body measurements to distinguish individuals. -
Henry Faulds
Uses fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglary suspect. -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Published his first Sherlock Holmes story; Considered the first "CSI", featured in four novels and 56 short stories, popularized scientific crime detection methods. -
Francis Galton
Published Finger Prints. Conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification. Gave proof of their uniqueness. -
Hans Gross
Wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation. Published Criminal Investigation. -
Karl Landsteiner
Discovered the ABO blood groups, later received Nobel Prize. -
Edmond Locard
Incorporated Gross' principles within a workable crime lab; became the founder and director of the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France. -
Albert S. Osborn
Published Questioned Documents. Developed the fundamental principles of document examination. -
Leon Lattes
Developed a method for determining blood type from dried blood. -
August Vollmer
Established the First Crime Lab in the United States, located in Los Angeles. -
Calvin Goddard
Developed a comparison microscope; first used to compare bullets to see if fired from the same weapon.
