Forensics Science Timeline

History of Finger Printing

1750 BCE

fingerprints pressed into clay tablets for official documents starting between 1792-1750b.C.

Western Beginnings

1684 BCE

Paper being written based on a set of finger prints dating back to 1684

Early Finger prints

300 BCE

Chinese historians believed they have found palm prints pressed into clay and wood for documents before by humans

Johann Christoph Andreas Mayer

1788

"the arrangement of skin ridges us never duplicated in two persons."

Jan Evangelist Purkyn

1823

first to describe the nine fingerprint patterns including loops, spirals, circles, and double whorls.

Sir William Herschel

1856

Each Fingerprint pattern is unique to the individual

Alphonse Bertillon

1883

was the first to identify repeating offenders with fingerprints patterns.

Galton and sir E.R. Henry

1888

developed and identification system for fingerprints

Ivan Vuceith

1891

Noted measurements and did overall improvements to the finger identification.

Sir Francis galton

1902

figured fingerprints do not age and first person to solve a murder looking at one.