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1247
13th Century China
The first case ever recorded using forensic science. The chinese lawyer Sung Tu's wrote a textbook on criminal investigations in which recounts the story of a murder near a rice field. The victim had been slashed repeatedly, and investigators suspected the weapon was a sickle. The local magistrate brought the workers together and asked them to lay down their sickles. One quickly attracted flies and could sense blood residue and tissue. The murderer, confronted, confessed to the crime. -
Mathieu Orfila
Considered the ''Father of Forensic Toxicology''. He worked to make chemical analysis a routine part of forensic medicine, made studies of asphyxiation, the decomposition of bodies, and exhumation. He helped to develop tests for the presence of blood and is credited as one of the first people to use a microscope to asses blood and semen stains. He worked to improve public health systems and medical training. -
William Herschel
Used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India. -
Alphonse Bertillion
''Father of Criminal Identification.'' Developed Anthropometry which uses body measurements to distinguish individuals. -
Henry Faulds
Uses fingerprints to eliminate an innocent burglary suspect. -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Published his first Sherlock Holmes, story; considered the first ''CSI''. featured in four novels and 56 short stories, popularized scientific crime-detection methods. -
Francis Galton
Published ''Finger Prints''. Conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification. Gave proof of their uniqueness. -
Hans Gross
Wrote the first paper describing the application of scientific principles to the field of criminal investigation. Published ''Criminal Investigation.'' -
Karl Landsteiner
Discovered the ABO blood groups, later received Nobel Prize. -
Edmond Locard
Incorporated Gross' principles within a workable crime lab; became the founder and director of the Institute of Criminalistics at the University of Lyons, France. -
Albert S, Osborn
Published ''Questioned Documents.'' Developed the fundamental principles of document examination. -
Leone Lattes
Developed a method for determining blood type from dried blood. -
August Vollmer
Established the first crime lab in the United States, located in Los Angeles. -
Calvin Goddard
Developed a comparison microscope; first used to compare bullets to see if fired from the same weapon.
