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Antistius was a Roman physician around 44 BC. He performed the first recorded autopsy on Julius Caesar after his murder -
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Roman jurist Quintilian used bloody hand prints to prove a person innocent. A blind man was accused of a murder. Quintilian proved the hand print in blood would have been dragged by a blind man feeling his way out of the room. The print wasn't a drag mark. This is the first trial with forensics.
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"The Washing Away of Wrongs" was a Chinese book written by Song Ci in 1247. Its the first book that helps determine the cause of death. -
Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia started studying the effects of death on internal organs. The laid the groundwork for modern pathology.
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Wilhelm Scheele developed a test for Arsenic poison in dead bodies.
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Mathieu Orfilla was known as the father of Forensic Toxicology. He published the 1st guide on detecting poison.
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Henry Goddard developed a technique for matching a bullet to the firearm. -
Sir Francis Colton developed the first technique for matching finger prints.
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Sir Edward Henry developed the standard for criminal fingerprinting techniques used worldwide.
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1901 to 1907 blood typing was developed and rolled out for use in blood transfusions and eliminating people from crimes.
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Edmond Locard formulated the basic principles of forensic science. He stated every person leaves a trace. He was also known as the Sherlock Holmes of France.
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Gas chromatograph and the mass spectrometer are a large part of Forensic Science. Science started creating them in early 1900s but they didn't' come together until mid 50's. They break down particles at a crime scene to identify and match them. Carpet fibers to carpet, etc.
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The US Supreme Court mandated a standard of Federal Rules of Evidence. -
In 1953 DNA was discovered genetically but not until the 1994 was the DNA Databank Legislation created for identifying people.