forensic science

  • 13th century China
    1247

    13th century China

    a lawyer tells the story of a murder near a rice field. The victim had been slashed repeatedly, and investigators suspected the weapon used was a sickle, a common tool used in the rice harvest. They brought all the workers together and told them to lay down their sickles. Though all the tools looked clean, one quickly attracted hordes of flies. The flies could sense the residue of blood and tissue invisible to the human eye. When confronted, the murderer confessed to the crime.
  • Mathieu Orfila

    Mathieu Orfila

    Mathieu Orfila, known as the "Father of Forensic Toxicology", worked to make chemical analysis a routine part of forensic medicine. He made studies of asphyxiation, the decomposition of bodies, and exhumation. He also worked to improve public health system and medical training
  • William herschel

    William herschel

    first to advocate the use of fingerprints for identification of criminals. In India William used them for security measures on documents or contracts
  • Alphonse Bertillon

    Alphonse Bertillon

    "Father of Criminal Identification". Developed Anthropology which created and identification system based on physical measurements
  • Henry Faulds

    Henry Faulds

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

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Published the first Sherlock Holmes story; considered the first "CSI" featured in four novels and 56 short stories, popularized scientific crime-detection methods
  • Francis Galton

    Francis Galton

    conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints, their classification, and their unique patterns
  • Hans Gross

    Hans Gross

    wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation.
  • Karl Landsteiner

    Karl Landsteiner

    discovered the ABO blood groups, later received a noble prize.
  • Edmond Locard

    Edmond Locard

    Incorporated Gross' principles within a workable crime lab; became the founder and director of the institute of criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France
  • Albert S. Osborn

    Albert S. Osborn

    published Questioned Documents. Developed the fundamental principles of document examination.
  • 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 US, located in Los Angeles.
  • Calvin Goddard

    Calvin Goddard

    Developed a comparison microscope; first used to compare bullets to see if fires from the same weapon.