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Earliest Study of Patterns on Human Hands
Dr. Nehemiah wrote a paper describing the patterns that he saw on human hand under the microscope, including the presence of ridges -
Johann Christoph Andreas Mayer follows Dr. Nehemiah's work
described that "the arrangement of skin ridges is never duplicated in two persons." He was the first scientist to recognize this fact. -
Jan Evangelist Purkyn
described nine distinct fingerprint patterns, including loops, spirals, circles, and double whorls. -
Beginning of collection of fingerprints
Sir William Herschel began the collecting of fingerprints. He noted the patterns were unique to each person and were not altered by age. -
Alphonse Bertillon
Alphonse Bertillon, an assistant clerk in the records office at the Police Station in Paris, created a way to identify criminals. -
Alphonse Bertillon's system
The system, sometimes called Bertillonage, was first used to identify a repeating offender. -
Sir Francis Galton
along with Sir E. R. Henry, developed the classification system for fingerprints that is still in use today in the United States and Europe. -
Improved fingerprint collection
Ivan (Juan) Vucetich began to note measurements on the identification cards of all arrested persons, as well as adding 10 fingerprint impressions. -
Sir Edmund Richard Henry
created a system that divided fingerprint records into groups based on whether they have an arch, whorl, or loop pattern. Lead to the creation of a ten card. -
Alphonse Bertillon
Alphonse Bertillon was credited with solving the first murder using fingerprints.
