The History of Forensics

  • The Marsh Test

    The Marsh Test
    First test used in in toxicology. Important in the advancement of toxicology. Helped determine if arsenic was in body. Used as evidence to convict many people of poisoning.
  • Francis Galton

    Francis Galton
    Discovered fingerprint analysis by determining fingerprints could be used to identify people. Also advocated for the use of fingerprint analysis in forensics.
  • Soil used in Forensic case

    Soil used in Forensic case
    Soil was used in a case in order to convict a man by determining the soil near the crime scene was found on his shoes.
  • Albert Osborn

    Albert Osborn
    Expert in document forgery. Discovered no two people can have the same handwriting characteristics. Wrote a book called Questioned Documents explaining his findings.
  • Creation of Polygraph

    Creation of Polygraph
    John A Larson a police and psychologist determined a way to monitor heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing in order to tell if someone was lying.
  • First Forensic Lab

    First Forensic Lab
    LA a police chief established the first lab in forensics.
  • Fume Hood

    Fume Hood
    Invented to remove harmful gas from the air before being released. Used in forensics when dealing with chemical evidence.
  • Calvin Goddard

    Calvin Goddard
    Contributed to the advancements in ballistics. Determined by examining bullets what guns it belonged to. Helped determine in a massacre that the bullets used were not police bullets.
  • Comparison Microscope

    Comparison Microscope
    First time comparison microscope was used in forensics to determine different markings on bullets. Helped ballistics and forensics.
  • FBI Crime Lab

    FBI Crime Lab
    The FBI opened their own crime lab which became the best crime lab in the world.
  • First Voice Detection used as Evidence

    First Voice Detection used as Evidence
    Spectrograph was discovered to record voices. Voice evidence began to be used as evidence in court.
  • Atlanta Child Murders

    Atlanta Child Murders
    29 kids in Atlanta area were strangled. Police at the dump site witnessed a car driving away they arrested the man however they didn't witness him drop a body. They used forensic evidence in order to convict him of the crime. They matched fibers from victims to 30 different fibers found in his house including his dog.