Important Contributions to Forensic Science

By 30000725
  • 1248 BCE

    First Case Recorded Using Forensic Science

    First Case Recorded Using Forensic Science
    Someone was stabbed so all of the knives in the village were collected and set out. The one with traces of blood would attract flies.

  • Mathieu Orfila

    Mathieu Orfila
    Published the first paper on 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 and developed Anthropometry which uses body measurements to distinguish individuals.

  • Henry Faulds

    Henry Faulds
    Used fingerprints to eliminate an innocent suspect.

  • Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

    Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
    Published the first Sherlock Holmes story (considered the first "CSI") featured in 4 novels and 556 short stories.

  • Francis Galton

    Francis Galton
    Conducted first definitive study to prove that all fingerprints are unique.

  • Hans Gross

    Hans Gross
    Wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principals to the field of criminal investigation.

  • Karl Landsteiner

    Karl Landsteiner
    Discovered ABO blood groups and later received the Nobel Prize.

  • Edmond Locard

    Edmond Locard
    Incorporated Gross' principles to the field of criminal investigation.

  • Albert S. Osborn

    Albert S. Osborn
    Developed the fundamental principles of document examination.

  • Leone lattes

    Leone lattes
    Developed method for determining blood type with dried blood.

  • August Vollmer

    August Vollmer
    Establishes first crime lab in the United States, located in Los Angeles, California.

  • Calvin Goddard

    Calvin Goddard
    Developed a comparison microscope, first used to compare bullets to see if fired from the same weapon.