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Sherlock Holmes
In 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote and published Sherlock Holmes.
This contributed to forensic science because of how much attention it drew to the practice. -
Fingerprint evidence
Juan Vucetich is the first to use fingerprints as evidence in a murder investigation. He invented a method of fingerprint identification known as dactyloscopy. -
Hair study
Victor Balthazard published a study on hair. Legal cases involving hair soon follow this study. -
Unique bullet markings
Victor Balthazard figured out that gun barrels leave unique individual markings on each bullet fired. He developed methods to match bullets to guns. -
Bones show facial appearance
Russian paleontologist Michael Gerasimov develops a method to reconstruct facial appearance from skull fragments -
Father of Forensics
Dr. Edmond Locard came up with his Exchange Principle that when two objects come into contact with each other something is exchanged and taken away by both objects. -
The polygraph
John Larson invented the polygraph. Police stations began to use it for forensic investigations in 1930 -
First use of the polygraph
The first lie detector is built by John Larson, a University of California medical student. -
Body Farm
Dr William Bass came up with the idea of a body farm, this allowed research on human decomposition etc. This body farm was started at the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center -
Fingerprints are now held in the system
Auto fingerprint system is now implemented by Canadian police. Fingerprints found at a crime scene can be compared to stored data of fingerprints on a computer. -
Successful DNA profiling
Tommy Lee Andrews was convicted of sexual assaults by the use of DNA profiling. Andrews was released in 2021. he was the first person in U.S. history to be convicted of a crime through the use of DNA evidence. -
Footprints for evidence
Britain’s Forensic Science Service began providing online footwear coding and detection which allows detectives to match footprints much more easily. This can help eliminate suspects if they do not own the shoe prints found at the crime scene. -
George Floyd
Forensic pathologists ruled George Floyd died from cardiopulmonary arrest.