History of Forensic Science:

  • 13th Century China
    1325

    13th Century China

    The first case ever recorded using forensic
    science. When someone was stabbed, all of
    the knives in the village were collected. Flies
    were attracted to the traces of blood and
    landed on only one of the knives, causing the
    suspect to confess.c
  • Mathieu Orfila

    Mathieu Orfila

    Considered the “Father of
    Forensic Toxicology”; chemist
    who published first scientific
    paper on the detection of
    poisons and their effects on
    animals.
  • William Herschel

    William Herschel

    Used thumbprints on documents to
    identify workers in India.
  • Alphonse Bertillon

    Alphonse Bertillon

    “Father of Criminal Identification”. Developed
    Anthropometry which uses body
    measurements to distinguish individuals.
  • Henry Faulds

    Henry Faulds

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

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Published his 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

    Published Finger Prints.
    Conducted the first
    definitive study of
    fingerprints and their
    classification. Gave proof
    of their uniqueness.
  • Hans Gross

    Hans Gross

    Wrote the first paper describing the
    application of scientific principles to the
    field of criminal investigation. Published
    Criminal Investigation.
  • Karl Landsteiner

    Karl Landsteiner

    Discovered the ABO blood groups, later received Nobel
    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 United
    States, located in Los Angeles.
  • Calvin Goddard

    Calvin Goddard

    Developed a comparison microscope; first
    used to compare bullets to see if fired from
    the same weapon.
  • Sir Alec Jeffreys

    Sir Alec Jeffreys

    developed the first DNA
    profiling test in 1984.