History Of Forensic Science

By LionelAngel
  • 600 BCE

    First Use Of Fingerprints

    Fingerprints first used to determine identity. Arabic merchants would take a debtor's fingerprint and attach it to the bill.
  • 44 BCE

    First Assassination

    In 44BC following the assassination of Julius Caesar the attending physician proclaimed that of the 23 wounds found on the body ‘only one’ was fatal.
  • Period: 44 BCE to

    History of Forensic Science

  • Sep 7, 1247

    First Book Of Forensic Science

    In 1247 the first textbook on forensic medicine is published in China which among others things documents the procedures to be followed when investigating a suspicious death.

  • First Report Of Cases

    The first pathology reports were published.

  • First Report On A Case

    The first pathology reports were published in the 1600s.

  • Physical Evidence Used In A Crime Case

    First recorded of physical matching of evidence leading to a murder conviction. The evidence that was found was a torn edge of newspaper in a pistol that matched newspaper in his pocket.

  • Investigating Poisoning

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

  • The First Uses Of Photos Used In Identification 1854-59

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

  • First Finger ID Used In Crime Case 1892

    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.

  • First Use Of Bloodstains 1901

    Human blood grouping, ABO, discovered by Karl Landsteiner and adapted for use on bloodstains by Dieter Max Richter.

  • The First Prison To Use Fingerprint ID 1903

    The NY state prison system implemented fingerprint identification.

  • First School Of Forensic Science

    The first school of forensic science founded by Rodolphe Archibald Reiss, in Switzerland.

  • Hair To Use In A Case

    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.

  • Crime Labs First Built

    The first police crime lab established in Los Angeles, California.

  • First Use Of Voice Recordings 1960s

    Voiceprints began to be used in investigations and as court evidence from recordings of phones, answering machines, or tape recorders.

  • The First National Crime System 1967

    The FBI established the National Crime Information Center, a computerized national filing system on wanted people, stolen vehicles, and weapons.

  • Upgraded Fingerprinters 1975

    The first fingerprint reader is installed at the FBI.