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Sep 9, 1248
Hsi Duan Yu (The Washing Away of Wrongs)
A chinese book describes how to tell the difference between death by strangulation and drowning. This was the first recorded use of medical knowledge to solve a crime. -
Treatise on document examination published
Francois Demelle of France, published the first book on systematic document examination. -
Fingerprint Characteristics
A professor of anatomy, Marcello Malpighi, noted fingerprint characteristics but made no mention of using the fingerprints for identifying criminals. -
First documented use of physical matching
A man in England was convicted of murder based on a torn piece of newspaper in a pistol matching a piece found in the suspects pocket. -
Investigating poisons
A method to detect arsenic in a victims stomach was developed by Valentin Ross, a German chemist. -
First recorded use of question document analysis
A chemical test for a certain ink was applied to a document known as the Konigin Hanschritt in Germany. -
First use of bullet comparison to solve crime
Henry Goddard used bullet comparison to catch a killer based on visual flaw in the bullet. -
First recorded use of fingerprints to solve a crime
A paper published by Henry Faulds suggests that fingerprints can be used to identify criminals. This helped to identify the innocence of a subject in one of the first fingerprint uses. -
Sherlock Holmes and the coroner
The Coroners act established that coroners were to determine the cause of any unnatural deaths. Conan Doyle published the first Sherlock Holmes book. -
Ballistics
First attempt of matching bullets to a gun barrel based simply on the number of lands and grooves by French professor, Alexandre Lacassagne. -
Discovery of human blood groups
Karl Landsteiner discovered human blood groups and was later awarded a Noble prize in 1930 for his discovery. His continued work on the detection of blood, its species, and its type lead to the basis subsequent work. -
FBI is established
Theodore Roosevelt established the federal bureau of investigation (FBI) -
Forensics Education
The first school of forensic science was founded in Switzerland by Rodolphe Reiss. -
Frye Standard
Scientific techniques that are not accepted in the scientific community as being accurate or valid cannot be used as evidence in a court trial. -
FBI crime lab
The federal bureau of investigation was created. -
American Academy of Forensic Science
The AAFS was created in Chicago, Illinois and begun the publication of the Journal of Forensic Science (JFS). -
Breathalyzer invented
The captain of the Indiana State Police, R.F.Borkenstine, invented the breathalyzer for roadside BAC testing. -
Development of gel-based methods to test dried bloodstains
Culliford, of the British Metropolitan Police Laboratory,started the development of using gel-based methods to test dried bloodstains for Isoenzymes. -
AFIS introduced
The FBI introduced the Automatic Fingerprint Identification System. This was the first computerized scans of fingerprints. -
Automated Fingerprint Identification System is created
The FBI first introduced the beginnings of its AFIS. -
Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer
The FTIS is adapted for the use in a forensic lab. -
Polymerase Chain Reaction
PCR was first considered by a worker at Cetus Corporation, Kerry Mullis. Not until 1986 was the first paper on the technique published. -
First DNA testing used in court
Edward Blake first used DNA testing to identify separate autopsy samples leading back to the same individual in the People v. Pestinikas. This was the first use pf any DNA testing in the United States. -
Admissibility of DNA was challenged
The New York v. Castro case was the first to challenge the admissibility of DNA evidence which lead to the call for certification, accreditation, standardization, and quality control guide lines for DNA labs and the forensic community. -
DNA Profiling
DNA profiling was first used in a United States criminal court leading to the Tommy Lee Andres to be convicted of a series of sexual assaults in Orlando, Florida. -
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals
A United States Supreme Court case determining the standard for admitting expert testimony in federal court. -
Daubert Standard
Updated version of the Frye standard used by judges to asses whether or not expert testimony is based on reasoning or method. -
AFIS database goes live
The FBI introduced computerized searches through the AFIS fingerprint database. -
Mitochondrial DNA typing
Mitochondrial DNA typing was admitted in a United States court for the first time in Tennessee v. Ware. -
DNA evidence is accepted as reliable
The National Academy of Science announces DNA evidence is reliable. -
National Integrated Ballistics Network is formed
An understanding by the FBI and ATF lead to the use of NIBIN to allow the exchange of firearms data between Drugfire and IBIS. -
DNA identification improved
DNA profiling time is improved from 6-8 weeks to 1-2 days. -
Footwear detection system
The online footwear and detection coding system was developed by Britain's Forensic Science Service. -
Detection after cleaning
The development of a method that allows scientists to see fingerprints after the prints have been wiped clean explains that fingerprints can effect metal surfaces. -
Dental Matching System
The development of a dental x-ray matching system by Japanese researchers makes a positive match in less than 4 seconds. -
Facial Sketches
The development of software at Michigan State University automatically matches facial sketches to mug shots in the database. -
Judge rejects DNA evidence in county trial
The judge of the Garrett Phillips's murder case rejected the use of controversial DNA evidence after the late July hearing. With little to no physical evidence, the prosecution used a scraping of the victims fingernail which the defense is arguing the reliability of the program used.
