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44 BCE
Julius Caesar's Autopsy
Antistius examined Julius Caesar's body in order to determine the fatal wound that led to his death. -
1200
Coronors Investigate
King Richard was the first to put into practice the idea of using coroner to investigate questionable deaths. -
1300
Hsi Yuan Lu
Ci Song's text on autopsies is the earliest known book to have survived. It tells how he became one of the best forensic scientists of his time. -
1552
First Law Requiring Autopsy
Emperor Charles V made the first law requiring an autopsy in the case of an "unnatural" death. -
Paul Revere
He was the first to identify somebody by their teeth. He had crafted his friend dentures out of hippopotamus teeth and recognized them in order to give him a heros funeral. -
Physical Evidence Used
The first time physical evidence is documented in the use of convicting someone of a crime is when an English man was convicted of murder after there was a piece of newspaper in his pocket that matched the torn edge of a newspaper stuffed in a pistol. -
Boiling Stomach's
Valentin Rose used the method of boiling stomachs and removing all the organic matter in order to isolate the poison used. -
Bullet Comparisons
Henry Goddard used the first bullet comparison in order to catch a murderer. -
Rudolf Virchow
Required the standardization of a specific series of steps in order to preform an autopsy leading to more discoveries. -
Recording & Using Fingerprints
Alphonse Bertillon creates a system to identify individuals using their finger prints. -
La Photographie Judiciaire
Alphonse published a book to standardize the lighting and angles used in mug shots used to identify criminals.
