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1300
13th Century China
The first case ever recorded using forensic science. A person was stabbed in the village and all the village knives were collected. The traces of blood left on the knife attracted flies and this caused the suspect to confess. -
Mathieu Ordila
Considered the Father of Forensic Toxicology. He is called this because he was a chemist who published the first scientific paper on the detections of poisons and their effects on animals. -
William Herschel
Used thumbprints on documents to identify workers in India. -
Alphonse Bertillon
Father of Criminal Identification and 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 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 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.
