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1247
13th century China
A murder caused by stab wounds had occurred in a Chinese village. By testing different blades on animal carcasses, it was concluded that the murder weapon was a sickle. They then used flies to test the sickles of the workers in the village to see which still had blood residue. -
Mathieu Orfila
Known as the "Father of Toxicology". He worked to make chemical analysis a routine part of forensic medicine. He made studies of asphyxiation, exhumation, and decomposition. -
William Herschel
Used fingerprints for identification on contracts to identify workers in India. -
Alphonse Bertillon
Known as the “Father of Criminal Identification”. He developed Anthropometry which uses body measurements to distinguish criminals or victims. -
Henry Faulds
Was able to use fingerprints to eliminate an innocent suspect in a burglary offense. -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Published his first Sherlock Holmes story which was considered the first “CSI”, featured in four novels and 56 short stories. It popularized scientific crime-detection methods. -
Francis Galton
Published Finger Prints. He conducted the first definitive study of fingerprints and their classification which 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
He discovered the blood groups, A, B, and O, and later received a 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.
