History of Forensics

13th Century China

1300

First case ever recorded using forensic science. Knives were collected in a village after a stabbing and flies were attracted to the one with traces of blood, causing the suspect to confess.

Mathieu Orfila

1814

Considered the "Father of Toxicology" because he published the first scientific paper on the detection of poisons.

William Herschel

1856

Used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India.

Alphonse Bertillon

1879

"Father of Criminal Identification." Developed Anthropometry which uses body measurements to distinguish individuals.

Henry Faulds

1880

Used fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglary suspect.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

1887

Published first Sherlock Holmes story; Considered the first CSI featured in 4 novels and 56 short stories, popularized scientific crime-detection methods.

Francis Galton

1892

Published 'Finger Prints.' Conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification. Gave proof of their uniqueness.

Hans Gross

1893

Wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation. Published 'Criminal Investigation.'

Karl Landsteiner

1901

Discovered the ABO blood groups; later received Nobel Prize

Edmond Locard

1910

Incorporated Gross's 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

1910

Published 'Questioned Documents.' Developed the fundamental principles of document examination.

Leone Lattes

1915

Developed a method for determining blood type from dried blood.

August Vollmer

1923

Established the first crime lab in the US; located in Los Angeles.

Calvin Goddard

1925

Developed a comparison microscope; first used to compare bullets to see if fired from the same weapon.