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220 BCE
Ancient Chinese use fingerprints
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Period: 200 BCE to 1400
Prehistoric
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1400
Jaamehol-Tawarikh includes comments about identifying persons from fingerprints
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Nehemiah Grew documents friction ridge skin observations
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Govard Bidloo documents friction ridge skin details
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Johann Mayer published drawings of friction ridge skin details
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Jan Purkinje publishes thesis detailing nine patterns
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The English use fingerprints
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Latent prints can be produced by iodine fuming
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Hand marks under microscope
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Thompson uses his own thumbprint to prevent forgery
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Bertillon System
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Vucetich uses galton pattern types for fingerprint files
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Alvarez and Galton
Alvarez makes the first fingerprint identification system. Galton publishes a book establishing the importance of fingerprints in identification. -
Fingerprint Branch at Metropolitan Police is formed
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New York uses fingerprints for ID
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US Army uses fingerpints
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FBI Identification Division is formed
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Interpol's AFIS exceeds 150,000 sets of unique prints
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Department of Homeland Security OBIM contains over 120 million sets of unique prints