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600 BCE
600 First Use of Fingerprints
Fingerprints first used to determine identity. Arabic merchants would take a debtor's fingerprint and attach it to the bill. -
44 BCE
44 BC Death of an Emperor
Julius Caesar is assassinated. Following this event, a physician performed an autopsy, and determined that of the 23 wounds found on the body, only one was fatal. -
1784 Physical Evidence used in Criminal Case
The First recorded instance of physical matching of evidence leading to a murder conviction (John Toms, England). Evidence was a torn edge of newspaper in a pistol that matched newspaper in his pocket. -
1806 Investigating Poisoning
German chemist Valentin Ross developed a method of detecting arsenic in a victim's stomach, thus advancing the investigation of poison deaths. -
1836 Chemical Testing Utilized
James Marsh, an English chemist, uses chemical processes to determine arsenic as the cause of death in a murder trial. -
1930 Lie Detector
Prototype polygraph, which was invented by John Larson in 1921, developed for use in police stations. -
Period: to
DNA Evidence in Conviction
DNA fingerprinting led to conviction of Colin Pitchfork in the murder of two teenage girls. This evidence cleared the main suspect in the case, who likely would have been convicted without it.