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Period: 1500 to
Forensics
Forensic science became quite widespread in 16th century Europe. Doctors and Medics began to use their knowledge to investigate the cause of death of someone that has been the victim of a crime scene. -
Macello Malpighi
Macello Malpighi, a professor at a University in Bologna, in Italy, noticed that fingerprints have loops, whorls, arches, and ridges, which make up most fingerprints.(Fingerprints) -
Period: to
William Nicol
William Nicol invented the polarizing light microscope, better known as Nicol Prism. -
Mathieu Bonaventure
Mathieu Bonaventure made significant contributionsto development of tests for the presence of blood in a forensics context. He is also considered the father of modern toxicology. (Blood) -
Mathieu Orfila
Mathieu Orfila worked on chemical analysis, which was part of forensic medicine. He helped develop tests for the presence of blood in forensic context. He was the first person to use a microscope to assess blood/semen stains. (Blood) -
Henry Goddard
Henry Goddard used bullet comparison to catch a murder. He compared a visible flaw in the bullet, which was traced back to a mold. (Ballistics) -
William Herschel
William Herschel used fingerprints as a way to make natives sign a contract. After a few contracts, William Herschel noticed that there were no identical fingerprints. This discovery turned into a way that could be used for identification purposes. (Fingerprints) -
J. (Izaak) Van Deen
A dutch scientists who created a poresumptive test for blood using Guaiac, which is a West Indian scrub. (Blood) -
Christian Friedrich Schönbein
Christian Friedrich Schönbein was the first to discover the ability of hemoglobin to oxidize hydrogen peroxide making it foam. This is the result of the first presumptive test for blood. (blood) -
Henry Faulds and William James Herschel
Henry Fualds and William James Herschel published a paper about how fingerprints are unique and different between people. Their discovery helped another scientist in court. The system identifies different possible patterns of fingerprints. (Fingerprints) -
Henry Faulds
Henry Faulds used fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglary suspect. (Fingerprints) -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle published his first Sherlock Homes story, considered the first CSI. -
Alexandre Lacassagne
Alexandre Lacassagne was the first person to try to individualize bullets to a gun barrel. His research and comparasion was purely based on the number of lands and grooves. (Ballistics) -
Murder Case
First time fingerprints were used in a murder case investigation with an Argentinean police officer. (Fingerprints) -
Fingerprints Used to Solve a Crima
Police in Argentina, using a bloody fingerprint on a doorframe, were able to find the murder. During the same exact year, police groups started to keep fingerprint files. (Fingerprints) -
Paul Jesrich
Paul Jesrich, who was a former chemist, took photomicrographs of two bullets to compare the minutiae. (Ballistics) -
Karl Landsteiner
Karl Landsteiner discovered the ABO blood groups. (Blood) -
Max Richter
Max Richter adapts Karl Landsteiner's discover of blood groups and puts that technique to the type of stains. (Blood) -
Fingerprints in Prisons
Fingerprint ID is brought to New York state jail system. (Fingerprints) -
Oskar and Rudolf Adler
Oskar and Rusolf Adler developed a persumptive test for blood based on benzidine, a new chemical. (Blood) -
Germaine Bichon Balthazard
Germaine Bichon Balthazard used photographic enlargements of bullets and cartridge cases to determining weapon type. (Ballistics) -
Vitcor Balthazarad
Vitcor Balthazarad realized that the tools that are used to make gun barrels never leave the same markings, and they leave special grooves on each bullet that fired through it. (Ballistics) -
Victor Balthazard
Victor Balthazard publishes the first article on the topic of individualizing bullet markings. (Ballistics) -
Leone Lattes
Leone Lattes developed a method that determined the blood types from dried bloodstains. (Blood) -
Calvin Goddard
With the help of Charles E. Waite, Phillip O. Gravelle, and John H. Fisher perfected the comparison microscope for the use in bullet comparison. (Ballistics) -
FBI
The FBI took over the cataloguing of fingerprints in America, By 1971, they had over 200 million fingerprints on file. (Fingerprints) -
Calvin Goddard
Clavin Goddard developed a comparison microscope, which was first used to be able to compare bullets to see if they were fired from the same weapon. (Ballistics) -
Period: to
Development and Invention of Computers
The invention of Computers helped the FBI keep track of fingerprint files. -
Development of the Immunoelectrophoretic Technique
Brian J. Culliford and Brian Wraxall develop technology that is used for Haptoglobin typing in bloodstains. (Blood) -
Brian J. Culliford
Brian J. Culliford initiates development of gel-based methods to test for Isoenzymes in dried bloodstains. He also intrumented in developing methods that would be testing proteins and also Isoenzymes in both blood and other body fluids.(Blood) -
FBI
First Fingerprint reader installed at the FBI. (Fingerprints) -
FBI
The FBI introduces the beginnings of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System with the first computerized scans of fingerprints. (Fingerprints) -
Auto Fingerprint
Canadian mounted police force implemented the first automatic system for fingerprint ID. (Fingerprints) -
Sir Alec Jeffreys
Sir Alec Jeffreys, who was a researcher at the Lister Institute, discover a method that identified individuals from DNA. This was a revolutionary new discovery in Forensics Science, which was the greatest Forensic discovery of the 20th Century. (Fingerprints) -
FBI
The FBI contacts Minemonic Systems to develop Drugfire, which was an automated imaging system that helped compare marks left on cartridge cases and shell casings. (Ballistics) -
FBI
The FBI introduced computerized searches of the fingerprint data base. The live scan adn card scan devices allow interdepartmental submissions. (Fingerprints) -
Annoucement
An announcement from the National Academy of Sciences declares that DNA evidence is reliable and can be used for court evidence.