Important Contributions to Forensic Science

By perickson77
  • 1201

    13th Century China

    When somebody was stabbed, all the knives in the village were collected. When flies were attracted to the blood on the murderer's knife, the murderer confessed.

  • Matheiu Orfila

    Orfila published the first scientific paper on the detection of poisons and their effects on animals. This contribution gave him the name of "The Father of Forensic Toxicology."

  • William Herschel

    Herschel used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India.

  • Alphonse Bertillon

    Bertillon developed anthropometry, which uses body measurements to distinguish individuals. He came to be known as "The Father of Criminal Identification."

  • Henry Faulds

    He used fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglary suspect.

  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Doyle published his first Sherlock Holmes story, which later came to be featured in four novels and 56 short stories. These stories popularized the scientific methods of crime scene investigation.

  • Francis Galton

    Galton published Finger Prints. He conducted the first scientific study of fingerprints and their classification. He also proved that all fingerprints are unique.

  • Hans Gross

    Gross wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal Investigation. He also published Criminal Investigation.

  • Karl Landsteiner

    Landsteiner discovered the ABO blood groups and later received the Nobel Prize.

  • Edmond Locard

    Incorporated Gross' principles within a broken a workable crime lab. He became the founder and director of the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France

  • Albert S. Osborn

    Osborn published Questioned Documents and developed the fundamental principles of document examination.

  • Leone Lattes

    Lattes developed a method for determining blood type from dried blood.

  • August Vollmer

    Vollmer established the First Crime Lab in the United States, which was located in Los Angeles.

  • Calvin Goddard

    Goddard developed the comparison microscope, which is used to compare the bullets to find out if they were fired from the same weapon.