-
1300
13th Century China
In 13th Century China, there was the first case ever recorded using forensic science. There was a murder, so all the knives in the town were collected and left out. Flies attracted to the knife with blood on it, which led to the confession of the murderer. -
Mathieu Orfila
He worked to make chemical analysis a routine part of forensic medicine, and made studies of asphyxiation and exhumation. He helped to develop tests for the presence of blood in a forensic context. He was the first to use a microscope to assess blood/semen stains. -
William Herschel
He used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India. -
Alphonse Bertillon
He was the father of criminal identification. He developed anthropometry which uses body measurements to distinguish individuals. -
Henry Faulds
He used 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 a Nobel Prize. -
Edmond Locard
Incorporated Gross' principles within a workable crime lab. He 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. -
Leone Lattes
Developed a method for determining blood types from dried blood. -
August Vollmer
Established the First Crime Lab in the United States, located in Los Angeles, California. -
Calvin Goddard
Developed a comparison microscope, first used to compare bullets to see if they were fired from the same weapon.
