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1550 BCE
First pathology report published
Egyptian medical professionals made records of bone injuries and diseases. -
44 BCE
First autopsy
Antistius conducted the first autopsy on Julius Caeser after his assassination. -
1247
First forensic science book published by the Chinese
The Chinese publish the first book on forensic medicine in 1247. -
First time physical evidence is used in a case
John Toms was convicted of murder after a paper used to fire the gun was found to be identical to the one he ripped from a newspaper . -
Chemical Testing Utilized
James March created the Marsh test for arsenic detection. It was fairly easy to get away with murders involving poisons before since it was hard to prove. -
First uses of photos in identification in San Francisco
San Francisco is the first city in the US to use photos to identify suspects in 1854. -
Fingerprints found to be unique
Faulds, Galton, and Hershel are all responsible for making the modern identification technique we use today. -
Criminal features reduced to numerical measurements of physical features of bones by Alphonse Bertillon
Alphonse Bertillon identified a suspect in a burglary by using his body measurements to prove that he was a repeat offender, even though the man used a fake name. -
Sherlock Holmes and the Corner
First Sherlock Holmes story is released and the coroner's act is passed. -
Fingerprint ID used in crime
Juan Vucetic used fingerprints to identify Francisca Rojas as the killer in a murder trial. -
Investigations into blood markers
Karl Landsteiner discovers that people have different types of blood cells and different blood groups. -
First school of Forensics is established
Rudolph Archibald Reiss establishes the Institute of Forensic Science at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. -
First use of fingerprints in a case
Thomas Jennings would be identified with the fingerprint he left on a freshly painted rail. -
Hair is used in forensics
The first study of hair is published by Victor Balthazard and Marcel Lambert and includes many microscopic studies of hairs from animals. -
Guns are unique
Victor Balthazard finds that tools used to make gun barrels never leave the same markings, meaning that every gun is different. -
Lie detection
John Larson develops a polygraph that would be used in criminal investigations. -
First Police crime lab built in Los Angeles
Police chief August Vollmer established one of the first modern crime laboratories in the United States in Los Angeles, California. -
FBI establishes a crime lab
FBI director J. Edgar Hoover recognized the importance of science in criminal matters. In 1932, they built the crime lab in Quantico, Virginia. -
Voice recording used as evidence
A sound spectrograph is discovered and is able to record voices and started to be used in forensic investigations. -
First national crime system
The FBI established the NCIC, the first centralized database to help track crime-related information. -
Advances in residue detection
Aerospace Corporation starts research on the detection of gunshot residue in collaboration with the US Department of Justice. -
DNA technique for unique ID
A technique that simultaneously detects lots of minisatellites in the genome to produce a pattern unique to an individual. It was invented by Professor Sir Alec Jeffreys. -
DNA catches a criminal- Tommie Lee Andrews
Tommy Lee Andrews is convicted of rape due to DNA testing and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. -
The Innocence Project
A series of projects to help end the wrongful convictions of innocent people. -
National Academy of Sciences announces DNA evidence is reliable
Developments in DNA technology prove to be reliable and are approved. -
Auto fingerprints system first implemented by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
A searchable database of people who have been lawfully fingerprinted by the Canadian police, which is managed by the -
Footwear detection system
Britain creates a footprint database to help identify criminals. -
Four second dental matching system
Japanese researchers create an identification system to identify people killed in disasters by analyzing their dental records. -
A way to visualize finger prints after they have been removed is developed relating to how fingerprints can corrode metal surfaces
Researchers at the University of Leicester develop a way for scientists and police to look at fingerprints after they have been removed because they corrode metal surfaces. -
A way to visualize finger prints after they have been cleaned is developed
Researchers at the University of Leicester develop a way for scientists and police to look at fingerprints after they have been cleaned -
Faster DNA IDs
Rapid DNA tests allowed scientists to identify suspects faster an ever before -
Faster Fingerprint IDs
The FBI makes the NGI fingerprint system and adds many biometric features to their existing fingerprinting system made in 1999. -
Facial sketches matched to photos
Computer science researchers at MSU make an algorithm to match hand-drawn sketches to mugshots in the police database -
National Commission on Forensic Science is established
The US Department of Justice establishes the National Commission on Forensic Science in 2013 -
Microbe Identification
Researchers identify people using their unique combinations of microbes in their body. -
ALP Levels identify age of suspects
Analyzing Alkaline Phosphate levels in body tissues reveals the age range of the suspect. -
NCFS discontinued
The National Commission of Forensic Science is discontinued after its final meeting in 2017. -
Buckskin Girl
DNA evidence leads to the ID of a 1981 cold case. -
Genealogy database used to track Golden State Killer
Police use a Free-to-use genealogy database to help identify the Golden State Killer. -
3D printing used to recreate bone fragments
Scientists discover how to reconstruct fragile bone evidence using 3D printing.
