History of the Crime Scene Investigative Science

By Rachael Kengle
  • 1100

    The Beginning

    In previous centuries there have been evidence of using forensic science but the following would be the most important in history.
  • 1194

    Role of Coroner

    Role of Coroner
    King Richard Plantagenet officially creates the role of coroner to be used in the science world.

  • The Microscope

    The Microscope
    Zacharias Janssen designs the first microscope with the help of his father, Hans.

  • The Term Forensic

    In 1659, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary officially recognized and printed the word “forensic”. While this term had been used before in medical papers but the word was not an official term.
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    Throughout The Years

    Throughout these years forensic science had become more dominant in legal cases. Also new scientific discoveries were used to decide the outcome of important legal cases.

  • Patterns in Prints

    Marcello Malpighi first recognizes fingerprint patterns and uses the terms loops and whorls.

  • Ballistics

    Ballistics
    Perhaps was was the first ballistic comparison, John Toms is convicted of murder based on the match of paper wadding removed from the victim’s wound with paper found in Tom’s pocket.
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    Forensic Toxicology

    In 1813, Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila publishes Traité des poisons (Treatise on Poison), which is the first toxicology textbook. Then in 1821, Sevillas isolates arsenic from human stomach contents and urine, giving birth to the field of forensic toxicology.

  • Biology and Anatomy

    Rudolph Virchow establishes the roots of cellular biology and anatomy.
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    Blood, Hair, DNA, X-Rays

    -1853, Ludwig Teichmann develops the hematin test to test blood for the presence of the characteristic rhomboid crystals.
    -1857, the first paper on hair analysis is published in France.
    -1862, Izaak van Deen develops the guaiac test for blood.
    -1863, Christian Friedrich Schönbein develops the hydrogen peroxide test for blood.
    -1868, Friedrich Miescher discovers DNA.
    -1875, Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen discovers X-rays. Richard Caton proves that animal brains possess electrical activity.

  • Advancements on Fingerprints

    Advancements on Fingerprints
    Henry Faulds shows that powder dusting will expose latent fingerprints.

  • Sherlock Holmes

    Sherlock Holmes
    In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s first Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, Holmes develops a chemical to determine whether a stain was blood or not which was something that had not yet been done in a real-life investigation.

  • Fingerprints Once Again

    This year, multiple things were done involving fingerprints.
    - Sir Francis Galton publishes his classic textbook Finger Prints.
    - In Argentina, Juan Vucetich devises a usable fingerprint classification system.
    - In Argentina, Francisca Rojas becomes the first person charged with a crime on fingerprint evidence.
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    Criminalistics

    1893: Hans Gross publishes Criminal Investigation and coined the term criminalistics.
    1895: Dr. Eduard Piotrowski publishes his text on bloodstain pattern recognition.

  • Criminal Psychology

    Hans Gross publishes Criminal Psychology.

  • 1901

    • Karl Landsteiner delineates the ABO blood typing system.
    • Paul Uhlenhuth devises a method to distinguish between human and animal blood.
    • Sir Edward Richard Henry becomes head of Scotland Yard and adopts a fingerprint identification system in place of anthropometry.

  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation.
    Here Teddy Roosevelt began the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

  • 1923 - American Forensics

    • Los Angeles Police Chief August Vollmer establishes the first forensic laboratory.
    • The Bureau of Forensic Ballistics is established in New York City.
    • Frye v. United States sets standards for the admission of scientific evidence into U.S. courtrooms.

  • Anthropology

    Anthropology
    The FBI Law Enforcement bulletin publishes W.H. Krogman’s seminal article on examining skeletal remains which brings the field of anthropology into forensic investigation.

  • DNA

    Oswald Avery, Colin MacLeod, and Maclyn McCarty discover that DNA carries genetic information.

  • CODIS

    The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is established.

  • New Courtroom Laws

    Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals establishes new rules for the admission of scientific evidence into the courtroom which alters the Frye Rules set in 1923.

  • National DNA Index System

    The National DNA Index System (NDIS) becomes operational.
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    Advancements

    From here on, the marvel of science has only improved. This is bringing old cases into light as they are able to be solved. These improvements can be medical or forensic related.