forensics timeline

By Bpayne
  • first use of forensics
    1325

    first use of forensics

    a murder was solved by observing that flies were attracted to a specific sickle, indicating it was the murder weapon
  • second use of forensics

    second use of forensics

    which was solved using physical matching of a pistol wad to a piece of newspaper in the suspect's pocket
  • ballistic analysis first used in forensics

    ballistic analysis first used in forensics

    Henry Goddard matched a bullet to a suspect's mold based on a casting mark.
  • first use of toxicology

    first use of toxicology

    James Marsh developed a test for arsenic that could be used as forensic evidence.
  • Alphonse Bertillon

    Alphonse Bertillon

    created a system of criminal identification using physical measurements
  • fingerprint analysis first used in forensics

    fingerprint analysis first used in forensics

    After a bloody fingerprint was found at the scene, Vucetich matched it to a woman named Francisca Rojas, leading to her confession.
  • Francis Galton

    Francis Galton

    popularized fingerprint classification
  • Frances Glessner Lee

    Frances Glessner Lee

    advanced crime scene investigation through detailed dioramas and lobbied for medical examiner reform.
  • first use of luminol

    first use of luminol

    German scientist Walter Specht, who demonstrated its ability to detect latent bloodstains on surfaces at crime scenes
  • first use of crime scene kit

    first use of crime scene kit

    the kit was first used in emergency rooms to collect trace evidence from rape victims and has been refined over time to be used by first respondents for a variety of crimes.
  • first use of digital forensics software

    first use of digital forensics software

    investigators moved from manually analyzing disks to using early, often ad-hoc, tools like IMDUMP and Safe Back, which allowed them to create exact copies of hard drives for examination, thereby preserving the original data.
  • major advance in DNA profiling

    major advance in DNA profiling

    Key advancements include touch DNA analysis, rapid DNA testing, phenotypic profiling to predict characteristics from DNA, and the use of forensic genealogy to solve cold cases, fundamentally transforming criminal investigations and the pursuit of justice.
  • DNA profiling

    DNA profiling

    made just two years before its first use in forensics in 1986 in a British rape-homicide case, which led to the exoneration of a suspect and the conviction of the actual perpetrator.
  • David camm

    David camm

    A state forensic analyst testified that the pattern of his wife's blood on Camm's T-shirt indicated he was the murderer.Result: Camm was convicted, but after a long legal battle, the testimony was proven to be based on flawed analysis, and his conviction was overturned.
  • Laser scanner first use in forensics

    Laser scanner first use in forensics

    when a police unit began using a 3D laser scanner to capture a crime scene