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Fingerprint ID used in crime
juan Vucetich, an Argentinean police officer, is the first to use fingerprints as evidence in a murder investigation. He created a system of fingerprint identification, which he termed dactyloscopy. -
Investigations into blood markers
Human blood grouping, ABO, discovered by Karl Landsteiner and adapted for use on bloodstains by Dieter Max Richter. -
First fingerprint prisoner ID used
NY state prison system implemented fingerprint identification. -
Hair now used in forensics
Victor Balthazard and Marcelle Lambert publish first study on hair, including microscopic studies from most animals. First legal case ever involving hair also took place following this study -
Guns are unique
Victor Balthazard realizes that tools used to make gun barrels never leave the same markings, and individual gun barrels leave identifying grooves on each bullet fired through it. He developed several methods of matching bullets to guns via photography. -
Lie detection
Prototype polygraph, which was invented by John Larson in 1921, developed for use in police stations. -
Voice recording, used as evidence (1960s)
A sound spectrograph discovered to be able to record voices. Voiceprints began to be used in investigations and as court evidence from recordings of phones, answering machines, or tape recorders. -
DNA catches the criminal
Tommy Lee Andrews convicted of a series of sexual assaults, using DNA profiling. -
Faster fingerprint IDs
FBI establishes the integrated automated fingerprint identification system, cutting down fingerprint inquiry response from two weeks to two hours. -
Detection after cleaning
A way for scientists to visualize fingerprints even after the print has been removed is developed, relating to how fingerprints can corrode metal surfaces. -
Facial sketches matched to photos
Michigan state university develops software that automatically matches hand-drawn facial sketches to mug shots stored in databases. -
Footwear detection system
Britain's Forensic Science Service develops online footwear coding and detection system. This helps police to identify footwear marks quickly.
