The History of Forensic Science

By KatelynLopez
  • 250 BCE

    Erasistratus

    Greek doctor Erasistratus discovers that the pulse of his patients increase when they lied. (First lie detector test)
  • 44 BCE

    Julius Caesar Autopsy

    The medical examiner of Julius Caesar determined that out of 23 wounds only one was fatal.
  • 1000

    Blind murder

    Quintilian, an attorney in the Roman courts, showed that bloody palm prints were meant to frame a blind man of his mother's mother.
  • 1247

    Washing Away the Wrong

    The first textbook on forensic medicine, Washing Away the Wrong, is written by Song Tzu and published in China Song.
  • 1400

    Common Law

    Medieval English Common Law calls for forensic determinations in dealing with estates.
  • 1441

    Medical experts

    German and Slavic societies were the first to write statutes that required medical experts to determine cause of death.

  • Polarizing light microscope

    William Nichol invented the polarizing light microscope.

  • Saliva

    Leuchs first noted amylase activity in human saliva.

  • Henry Goddard

    Henry was one of the first men to catch a murderer.

  • Poisons

    Jean Servais Stas is a chemist who discovered vegetable poisons in body tissue.

  • Blood testing

    Dutch scientist J. Van Deen developed a test for blood using guaiac , a West Indian scrub.

  • Photography

    Odelbrecht first advocated the use of photography for the identification of criminals.

  • Alphone Bertillon

    Alphon Bertillon develops anthropone try, a system of taking pictures and body measurements to identify criminals.

  • Coroner's Act

    Coroner's Act in the USA ensures that the coroner's role includes investigating cause of sudden or violent deaths.

  • Fingerprints

    Sir Francis Galton classifies fingerprints into eight categories.

  • Locard

    Edmond Locard develops exchange principle and in France starts the first ever police crime lab.

  • Franz Holzer

    Franz Holzer develops ABO blood typing method in Australia.

  • Luminol

    Walter Specht develops luminol, a chemical that shines blue when it comes in contact with blood.

  • gunshot residue

    Scientists in the USA develop methods to impact gunshot residue with a scanning electron microscope.

  • DNA Fingerprinting

    Sir Alec Jeffreys develops methods for DNA Fingerprinting and profiling in England that are used around the world today.