Forensics advancements

By rwillis23

  • First pathology reports publsihed

    First reports for pathology

  • First autopsies

    First autopsies in North America are done by French settlers on St. Croix Island.

  • Finger print differences were noted

    Marcello Malpighi, a professor of anatomy at the university of bologna, noted fingerprint characteristics, but not enough to figure out the value of the characteristics

  • First arsenic test

    Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742–1786) develops the first test for arsenic.

  • Physical evidence used in a criminal case.

    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.

  • Investigating poison

    German chemist Valentin Ross developed a method of detecting arsenic in a victim's stomach, thus advancing the investigation of poison deaths.

  • First uses of photos in identification

    San Francisco uses photography for criminal identification, the first city in the US to do so.

  • Finger prints found to be unique

    Henry Faulds and William James Herschel publish a paper describing the uniqueness of fingerprints. Francis Galton, a scientist, adapted their findings for the court. Galton's system identified the following patterns: plain arch, tented arch, simple loop, central pocket loop, double loop, lateral pocket loop, plain whorl, and accidental.

  • Fingerprint ID used in crime

    Juan Vucetich, an Argentinean police officer, is the first to use fingerprints as evidence in a murder investigation. He created a system of fingerprint identification, which he termed dactyloscopy.

  • Fingerprint ID more common

    Galton-Henry system of fingerprint identification officially used by Scotland Yard, and is the most widely used fingerprinting method to date.

  • First fingerprint prisoner ID used

    NY state prison system implemented fingerprint identification.

  • Hair now used in forensics

    Victor Balthazard and Marcelle Lambert publish first study on hair, including microscopic studies from most animals. First legal case ever involving hair also took place following this study.

  • Faster DNA IDs

    Technology speeds up DNA profiling time, from 6-8 weeks to between 1-2 days

  • Detection after cleaning

    A way for scientists to visualize fingerprints even after the print has been removed is developed, relating to how fingerprints can corrode metal surfaces.

  • Facial sketches matched to photos

    Michigan state university develops software that automatically matches hand-drawn facial sketches to mug shots stored in databases.