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44 BCE
Death of Julius Caesar
It was determined by a physician who performed an autopsy, that Julius was stabbed 23 times but only one was what killed him. -
400
Medical Law
A law was created by Germanic and Slavic societies that only medical experts can determine the cause of death if a crime is present. -
600
Fingerprinting
Fingerprinting had become a new method of determining an individual's identity. -
1248
Forensic Science Book
A Chinese manual called Hsi Duan Yu (the washing away of wrongs) was published. It was the first known record of a science book containing medical knowledge that was used to solve a case. -
Handwriting Analysis
Francois Demelle published a book systematic document examination. -
Fingerprint Characteristics
Marcello Malpighi noted the characteristics in fingerprints. However, it wasn't acknowledged that the use of DNA fingerprinting could be used as a method of identification. -
Physical Evidence
John Toms was convicted of murder. A piece of a newspaper found in the murder weapon (pistol) matched a piece in his pocket. This was the first known type of physical evidence. -
Investigation of Poison Deaths
Valentin Ross, a German chemist, was able to detect arsenic in a victim's stomach due to his new method. -
Stains
Mathiew Orfila, the father of toxicology, was the first to study blood and semen stains under a microscope. -
New Microscope Invention
The polarizing light microscope was invented by William Nichol. -
Bullet Comparison
Henry Goddard used bullet comparison to determine who the murderer was. The murderer was caught because of a visible flaw found on the bullet itself. -
Crystal Test
Ludwig Teichmann used hemin crystals to test for hemoglobin. It was the first microscopic crystal test. -
Photograph Identification
San Francisco uses photographs to identify a criminal. -
Palm Markings
Thomas Taylor proposed that markings found on the palm and fingertips could be a method used for identification. -
Study of Hair
Hair was first studied by Rudolph Virchow, who also recognized its limitations. -
Fingerprints Discovered to be Unique
A paper was published by Henry Faulds and William James Herschel about the different aspects in a fingerprint and how it's unique. -
Anthropometry
Alphonse Bertillon, a policeman, identified the first person who reoffended based on his invention of anthropometry, the study of measurements of our bodies. -
Jack the Ripper
Doctors looked for wound patterns while examining victims who were involved in Jack the Ripper. -
Trace Evidence
Locard brings forward the idea of a precept "Every contact leaves a trace." -
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The FBI was established by President Theodore Roosevelt. -
Forensics Education
The first school which taught forensic science was founded by Rodolphe Archibald Reiss. -
Lie Detection
John Larson had invented a machine that detects lies based on your breathing and blood pressure. -
Crime Labs Built
Crime labs were being built, the first being in Los Angeles. -
Polygraph Tests
Polygraph tests were ruled as inadmissible, non-valid evidence. -
Breathalyzer
R.F. Borkenstein invented the breathalyzer, which was used for sobriety tests to determine if someone is under the influence. -
Voiceprints
Voice recordings from phone calls, answer machines, etc., were recorded on sound spectrographs and could be used as evidence. -
National Crime Information Center
A national crime system was established where wanted people, stolen vehicles, weapons, etc., were file into. -
Residue Detection
Because of technology advances, gunshot residue could be detected. You could also determine how close the person was from the gun. -
Automatic Fingerprint ID
A system was implemented for automatic fingerprint identifications. By 1999, the inquiry went from two weeks to two hours to respond. -
DNA Profiling Testing
Alec Jeffreys performed the first DNA profiling test. -
Production of DNA IDs Becomes Faster
Improved technology allows DNA profiling time to go from 6-8 weeks, to only 1-2 days. -
Footwear Detection
A system was created by Britain's Forensic Science Service to code/detect footwear to identify footwear marks. -
Detection of "Clean" Fingerprints
Scientists discovered a way to visualize fingerprints even after prints have been cleaned off of a surface, object, etc. -
Facial Sketching
A software was developed by Michigan State University that automatically detected a mug shot stored on the database by a hand drawn image of that person. -
Dental X-ray Matching System
Researchers in Japan developed a dental x-ray matching system. Dental records can match to a person stored on the database.