Forensic Scientist

Mathieu Orfila

1814

Considered "Father of Forensic Toxicology" because he published the first scientific paper on the detection of poisons and their effects on animals.

William Herschel

1856

Used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India

Alphonse Bertillon

1879

"Father of Criminal Identification". Developed Anthropometry which uses body measurements to distinguish individuals.

Henry Faulds

1880

Uses fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglary suspect.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

1887

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

1892

Published Finger Prints. conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification. gave proof of their uniqueness.

Hans Gross

1893

Wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation. Published Criminal Investigation.

Karl Landsteiner

1901

Discover the ABO blood groups, later received Nobel Prize.

Edmond Locard

1910

Incorporated Gross' principles within a workable crime lab; became the founder and director of the Institute of Criminalists at the University of Lyons, France.

Albert S. Osborn

1910

Published Questioned Documents. Development the fundamental principles of document examination.

Leone Lattes

1915

Developed a method for determining blood type from dried blood.

August Vallmer

1923

Established the First Crime Lab in United States, located in Los Angeles.

Calvin Goddard

1925

Developed a comparison microscope; first used to compare bullets to see if fired from the same weapon.