Forensic Science Timeline 1

By 40011834
  • 1300

    First Forensic Case

    First Forensic Case
    In China, someone was stabbed. To determine who stabbed the victim, all of the knives in the village were collected and set out. Flies were drawn to the knife that was used to stab the victim and the suspect made a confession.

  • Mathieu Orfila

    Mathieu Orfila
    Orfila is considered to be the "Father of Forensic Toxicology" because he published the first scientific paper on the effect of poison on animals and the detection of poisons.

  • William Herschel

    William Herschel
    William Herschel used thumbprints to identify his workers in India.

  • Alphonse Bertillon

    Alphonse Bertillon
    Alphonse Bertillon is called the "Father of Criminal Identification" because he developed anthropology, which uses measurements of the body to differentiate individuals.

  • Henry Faulds

    Henry Faulds used fingerprints to prove the innocence of a suspected burglar.

  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was considered the first CSI. He wrote the "Sherlock Holmes" short stories. His novels also made Scientific Crime-Detection Methods very popular.

  • Francis Galton

    Francis Galton conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification. He also proved that they are unique.

  • Hans Gross

    Hans Gross wrote the first scientific paper that discusses the application scientific principles to the field on criminal investigation and published Criminal Investigation.

  • Karl Landsteiner

    Karl Landsteiner received the Nobel Prize and discovered the ABO blood types.

  • Edmond Locard

    Edmond Locard used Hans Gross' paper to incorporate scientific principles into a workable lab and founded the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France.

  • Albert S. Osborn

    Albert S. Osborn developed the fundamental principles of document examination and published Questioned Documents.

  • Leone Lattes

    Leone Lattes developed a method to determine the blood type of dried blood.

  • August Vollmer

    August Vollmer established the first crime lab in the United States. It is located in Los Angeles, CA.

  • Calvin Goddard

    Calvin Goddard created a microscope that shows two things side by side and he was the first to compare bullets to see what weapon it was fired from.