History of Fingerprinting

By andrew.meek
  • First fingerprints found on clay tablet
    1792 BCE

    First fingerprints found on clay tablet

    Archaeologists discovered the first fingerprints which were implanted into clay tablets in Babylon.
  • Oldest documents in China with fingerprints
    300 BCE

    Oldest documents in China with fingerprints

    The oldest copies of fingerprints found in China are dated back to the 3 century BC
  • Dr. Nehemiah writes a paper about fingers

    Dr. Nehemiah writes a paper about fingers

    Dr. Nehemiah writes a paper talking about the patterns found on human fingers. He used a microscope to see the patterns which included the presence of ridges.
  • Johann Christoph Andreas Mayer

    Johann Christoph Andreas Mayer

    Johann Christoph Andreas Mayer continues Dr. Nehemiah's work and he recognizes that the arrangement of skin ridges is never the same between two people.
  • Jan Evangelist Purkyn

    Jan Evangelist Purkyn

    Jan Evangelist Purkyn identifies 9 distinct fingerprint patterns.
  • Sir William Herschel begins to collect fingerprints

    Sir William Herschel begins to collect fingerprints

    Sir William Herschel begins to collect fingerprints of different people. He noticed how each fingerprint pattern was unique to each person and were not changed depending upon the age of the person.
  • Alphonse Bertillon uses fingerprints to identify criminals

    Alphonse Bertillon uses fingerprints to identify criminals

    Alphonse Bertillon was able to figure out a way to identify criminals just by having a fingerprint of them. He would be the creator of the Bertillonage system, which was used for the first time in 1883 to identify a criminal.
  • Sir E. R. Henry and Sir Francis Galton develops the modern way that we identify criminals with fingerprints

    Sir E. R. Henry and Sir Francis Galton develops the modern way that we identify criminals with fingerprints

    Sir E. R. Henry and Sir Francis Galton develop the classification system for fingerprints that is used in Europe and the United States. Which included classifying fingerprints into 3 different groups based on appearance.
  • Fingerprinting processing becomes faster

    Fingerprinting processing becomes faster

    Over the past few decades fingerprinting technologies have become much more advanced and faster at processing a fingerprint.
  • The development of advenced Biometrics

    The development of advenced Biometrics

    The development of advanced biometrics was made possible because of the advancement in fingerprinting technology over the past few decades.