Forensic Accomplishments

  • 13th Century China
    1200

    13th Century China

    The first ever recorded case using forensic science. Someone was stabbed in China, and all knives were collected from the village households. Flies were attracted to traces of blood and all landed on one specific knife. This caused the suspect to confess.
  • Mathieu Orfila

    Mathieu Orfila

    He is considered the "father of forensic toxicology". He was a chemist who published the first scientific paper on detection of drugs and their effects on animals.
  • William Herschel

    William Herschel

    Used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India.
  • Alphonse Bertillon

    Alphonse Bertillon

    Considered the "father of forensic anthropology". Developed anthropometry, which used body measurements to distinguish individuals.
  • Henry Faulds

    Henry Faulds

    Uses fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglary suspect.
  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Published his first "Sherlock Holmes" story. He is considered the first "CSI", and is featured in 4 novels and 56 short stories. He also popularized scientific crime-detection methods.
  • Francis Galton

    Francis Galton

    Published his book "Fingerprints", and conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification. He gave proof of their uniqueness to individuals.
  • Hans Gross

    Hans Gross

    Published his book "Criminal Investigation". He wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation.
  • Karl Landsteiner

    Karl Landsteiner

    Discovered the blood type groups A, B, and O. He later received the Nobel Prize.
  • Edmond Locard

    Edmond Locard

    He incorporated Gross' principles within a workable crime lab. He later became the founder and director of the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France.
  • Albert S. Osborn

    Albert S. Osborn

    Published the book "Questioned Documents". He also developed the fundamental principles of document examination and handwriting observation.
  • Leone Lattes

    Leone Lattes

    Developed a method for determining blood type from dried blood.
  • August Vollmer

    August Vollmer

    Established the first crime lab in the United States, which is located in Los Angeles, California.
  • Calvin Goddard

    Calvin Goddard

    Developed a comparison microscope that was used to compare images of bullets to see if it was fired from the same weapon.