-
1325
13th Century China
The first case ever recorded using forensic
science. When someone was stabbed, all of
the knives in the village were collected. Flies
were attracted to the traces of blood and
landed on only one of the knives, causing the
suspect to confess.c -
Mathieu Orfila
Considered the “Father of
Forensic Toxicology”; chemist
who published first scientific
paper on the detection of
poisons and their effects on
animals. -
William Herschel
Used thumbprints on documents to
identify workers in India. -
Alphonse Bertillon
“Father of Criminal Identification”. Developed
Anthropometry which uses body
measurements to distinguish individuals. -
Henry Faulds
Uses 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 Nobel
Prize. -
Edmond Locard
Incorporated Gross’ principles within a workable crime lab;
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 type from dried blood. -
August Vollmer
Established the First Crime Lab in United
States, located in Los Angeles. -
Calvin Goddard
Developed a comparison microscope; first
used to compare bullets to see if fired from
the same weapon. -
Sir Alec Jeffreys
developed the first DNA
profiling test in 1984.