-
Sep 14, 700
Origins
Chinese used fingerprints to establish identity of documents and clay sculptures. -
Sep 14, 1000
Roman Courts
Roman courts determined that bloody palm prints were used to frame a man in his brother’s murder. -
Sep 14, 1149
Coroner
King Richard of England introduced the idea of the coroner to investigate questionable death. -
Sep 14, 1200
China Murder
A murder in China is solved when flies were attracted to invisible blood residue on a sword of a man in the community. -
Fidelus
Fidelus was first to practice forensic medicine in Italy. -
Anton Van Leeuwenhoek
Anton Van Leeuwenhoek constructed the first high-powered microscope. -
Paul Revere
Paul Revere identified the body of General Joseph Warren based on the false teeth he had made for him. -
John Toms
John Toms convicted of murder on basis of torn edge of wad of paper in pistol matching a piece of paper in his pocket. -
Gustav Kirchhoff
Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen developed the science of spectroscopy. -
Photography
Crime scene photography developed. Although it was considered a good way to identify things, it wasn't until the 19th century that it was accepted as a forensic means of identification. Photos weren't clear until Flash photography came in 1883. The requirements for photos in court got more stricter over time. In 1887photos had to be made with sophisticated techniques and had to be examined by the jury. http://www.forensic-evidence.com/site/EVID/LegalPhotog.html -
Alphonse Bertillon
Alphonse Bertillon developed a system to identify people using particular body measurements. -
Fingerprint Identification
Edward Henry developed first classification system for fingerprint identification. Taking fingerprints was common in Bengal as a means of identification. The idea was introduced by Sir William Herschel, but it wasn't used by the police at the time. Henry developed a system of fingerprint identification so fingerprint records could be organised and searched for with relative ease. The use of fingerprints in court was recognized in 1899. http://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html -
Blood Groups
Karl Landsteiner identified human blood groups. This allowed blood transfusions to occur safely. He discovered that transfering blood of the same type didn't result in the destruction of blood cells. The blood groups are A, B, AB, and O. He only discovered types A, B, and O at first. Landsteiner was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Physiology or Medicine as recognition for this achievement. http://www.lisashea.com/lisabase/biology/art14433.html -
Edmond Locard's Principle
Edmond Locard formulated his famous principle, “Every contact leaves a trace.” -
Mass Spectrometer
Francis Aston developed the mass spectrometer. -
Double Helix
James Watson and Francis Crick discover the DNA double helix. The two were members of the Phage group who were on the path to discovering the nature of the gene. They discovered that genes were proteins and self replicating. A chemist named Linus Pauling published a model of the alpha helix. The two however, discovered the double helix in 1953, though it went unreported for a while. http://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/dna_double_helix/readmore.html -
AFIS
AFIS developed by FBI, fully automated in 1996. -
DNA Tests
Jeffreys developed and used first DNA tests to be applied to a criminal case. Jeffreys discovered the possibility of DNA fingerprinting after looking at an X-ray image of a DNA experiment in 1984. It showed both similarities and differences between the DNA of different members of a family. Genetic fingerprinting was developed and it became an important method in forensic science. http://www.dna.gov/basics/analysishistory
