History of Forensic Science

First Timers

Jan 1, 1248

First forensic science manual published by the Chinese. This was the first known record of medical knowledge being used to solve criminal cases.

A list of Firsts

Jan 1, 1784

First recorded instance of physical matching of evidence leading to a murder conviction (John Toms, England). Evidence was a torn edge of newspaper in a pistol that matched newspaper in his pocket.

Start of Western science

Jan 1, 1800

The first recorded use of questioned document analysis.
Development of tests for the presence of blood.
A bullet comparison used to catch a murderer.
The first use of toxicology in a jury trial.
The development of the first crystal test for hemoglobin
The first use of photography for identification of criminals and documentation of evidence and crime scenes.
The first recorded use of fingerprints.
The development of the first microscope with a comparison bridge.

Progress

Jan 1, 1902

Establishment of the popular practice of using the comparison microscope for bullet comparison

More Progress

Jan 1, 1931

Development of the absorption-inhibition ABO blood typing technique

Even More Progress...

Jan 1, 1935

Invention of the first interference contrast microscope

Laws of science

Jan 1, 1975

Enactment of the Federal Rules of Evidence

Oh Look! More Progress

Jan 1, 1986

the use of DNA to solve a crime and exonerate an innocent suspect

Evolution of criminal science

Jan 1, 1987

the introduction of DNA profiling in the U.S. A criminal court case in which the admissibility of DNA was seriously challenged set in motion a string of events that culminated in a call for certification, accreditation, standardization and quality control guidelines for both DNA laboratories and the general forensic community.

Getting Clever

Jan 1, 2003

NAS research group exposed a long-held FBI theory that every batch of gun ammunition ever made carries its own unique chemical fingerprint.