Forensics Timeline

By meganschrier2021

  • Mathieu Orfila

    Mathieu Orfila
    Considered the father of forensics toxicology.

  • William Herschel

    William Herschel
    Used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India.

  • Alphonse Bertillon

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

  • Henry Faulds

    Henry Faulds
    Uses fingerprints to eliminate innocent burglary suspect.

  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    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

    Francis Galton
    Published "Finger Prints" Conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification. Gave proof of their uniqueness.

  • Hans Gross

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

  • Karl Landsteiner

    Karl Landsteiner
    Discovered the ABO blood groups, later received the Nobel Prize.

  • Albert S. Osborn

    Albert S. Osborn
    Published "Questioned Documents," Developed the fundamental principles of document examination.

  • Edmond Locard

    Edmond Locard
    Incorporated Gross' principles within the crime lab; became the founder and director of the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France.

  • Leone Lattes

    Leone Lattes
    Developed a method for determining blood type from dried blood.

  • August Vollmer

    August Vollmer
    Established the first crime lab in the United States, located in Los Angeles.

  • Calvin Goddard

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