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1000 BCE
Fingerprints are used
All throughout history, fingerprints were used on official documents. They were used like a signature in places like ancient Babylon, China, Nova Scotia, and Persia. -
Fingerprint patterns are noticed
A professor at the University of Bologna, in Italy, named Macello Malpighi noticed that fingerprints had common patters. Loops, whorls, arches, and ridges seemed to make up most fingerprints. -
No two prints are the same
A magistrate in India named William Herschel began using fingerprinting as a way to make natives "sign" a contract. After several contracts, he began noticing that no two fingerprints were the same; and fingerprints could be used for identification purposes. -
Fingerprints are used to identify someone
A doctor in Tokyo became very interested in fingerprinting. Dr. Henry Faulds used fingerprints to identify who had left a stray bottle lying around—he matched fingerprints left on the bottle with a laboratory worker. -
Fingerprints are used to solve a crime
Using a bloody fingerprint left on a doorframe, police in Argentina were able to identify a murderer. During the same year, certain police groups started keeping fingerprint files. -
Fingerprints around the world
The use of fingerprints was slow to catch on from country to country. After Argentina, British India took up the practice. -
America begins using fingerprints
The New York Police Department, and others across the state, began using fingerprints as a way to identify people. Over the next few years, the practice slowly spread westward. -
America military branches use fingerprinting
Over time, the Army, Navy, and Marines began using fingerprinting. The National Bureau of Criminal Investigation also began keeping track of the fingerprints on file. -
Computerized fingerprinting
With the advancement in technology, programs began using Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems. The AFIS's scanned and stored fingerprints electronically. -
FBI moves to electronic fingerprinting
Through a long process, the FBI began transferring their fingerprint file to an electronic system. Millions of criminal fingerprints are now stored across the globe.