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1247
First Crime Solved by Forensic Entomology
In 1247, Chinese lawyer Sung Ts'u wrote a textbook on criminal investigation, "The Washing Away of Wrongs", which recounts the story of a murder that took place in a rice field with the weapon as a sickle. The victim had been repeatedly slashed. To find the murderer, al the workers were asked to lay down their sickles. After some time, a horde of flies were attracted to a sickle, drawn to the blood and tissue residue unseen by the human eye. The killer finally confessed to his crime. -
Mathieu Orfila
Spanish chemist and physician Mathieu Orfila is known as the "Father of Forensic Toxicology" because he was the first to combine the science of toxicology with criminal court of law. In 1814, his book "Traite des Poisons" was published, becoming a common guideline fir murder cases with suspected us of poison. -
William Herschel
William Herschel is considered one of the first Europeans to recognize the use of fingerprints as identification. He used thumbprints on documents and contracts to identify workers in India. -
Alphonse Bertillon
Alphonse Bertillon is known as the "Father of Criminal Identification" and he developed anthropometry, which uses body measurements to distinguish individuals. -
Henry Faulds
He used fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglar suspect. Faulds and Herschel are both credited for the use of fingerprints in forensics. -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
He published his first Sherlock Holmes story which is considered the first "CSI". It popularized scientific crime-detection methods. -
Francis Galton
He conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification. He gave proof to their uniqueness and published a book Finger Prints. -
Hans Gross
He wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation. He also published "Criminal Investigation". -
Karl Landsteiner
He discovered the ABO blood groups, which later led him to receive a Nobel Prize. -
Edmond Locard
He incorporated Gross’s principles within a workable crime lab and he became the founder and director of the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France. -
Albert S. Osborn
He published “Questioned Documents” and developed the principles of document examination. -
Leone Lattes
He developed a method for determining blood type from dried blood. -
August Vollmer
He established the first crime lab in the US, in Los Angeles. -
Calvin Goddard
He developed a comparison microscope which was first used to see if fired bullets came from the same gun.
