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1201
13th Century China
The first case ever recorded using forensic science. Someone had been stabbed in the village and in order to find the suspect they collected all of the knives from everyone that lived in the village. Because the flies were attracted to the traces of blood still left on the knife, they were able to figure out who the suspect was. -
Mathleu Orfila
Considered the Father of Toxicology because he published the 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 Bertillion
Used 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. -
Henry Faulds
Uses fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglary suspect. -
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.
