Transcript The History of Forensic Science

The History of
Forensic Science
The history of forensic science
stretches back as early as the
7th century, when the Chinese
used fingerprints to identify
documents and clay sculptures
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Sherlock Holmes first applied the
principles of serology, fingerprinting,
firearm identification, and document
examination long before forensic
science was recognized as a valid
tool for investigators.
Mathieu Orfila
1787-1853
• Father of Toxicology
• Greatly improved tests
used to detect
poisons…especially
arsenic
• Treatise of Toxicology
…Summed up
everything known
about poisons and
offered classifications
Alphonse Bertillon
1853-1914
• Bertillon was the inventor of the
first scientific method of identifying
criminals.
• He devised a system of
identification of criminals which
relies on 11 bodily measurements
and the color of the eyes, hair, and
skin.
• Anthropometric method/Biometrics
(Body measurements)
Sir Francis Galton
1822-1911
• The great man of measurement, of
"anything and everything"
• Galton was the first to study
fingerprints.
• He is credited for developing a system
of classification for filing fingerprints.
• His cousin was Charles Darwin.
Leone Lattes
1887-1954
• 1915 – Devised a procedure for
determining the blood group of a
dried bloodstain for criminal
investigations
• Developed an antibody test for
ABO blood groups
• He first used the test to resolve a
marital dispute.
Dr. Karl Landsteiner
1868-1943
• 1901 –
Discovered that
blood can be
grouped into four
categories
• A, B, AB, O
Calvin Goddard
(1891-1955)
• Firearms expert
• Perfected the
comparison
microscope for
use in bullet
comparison
Albert S. Osborn
1858-1946
• The first American
prominent in the field
of forgery detection
• Established a system
for document
examinations
• Wrote Questioned
Documents (1910)
which is still used
Hans Gross
1847-1915
• 1893 - Wrote the
first treatise
describing the
application of
various scientific
disciplines to the
field of criminal
investigations
• Considered an
expert in the field of
criminal psychology
Edmond Locard
1877-1966
• Dr. Edmond Locard was
a student of Bertillon
(Biometrics)
• Educated in medicine
and law
• “Every contact leaves a
trace”
• First to suggest 12
matching points as a
positive fingerprint
identification
J. Edgar Hoover
1895-1972
• Director of the
Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI)
• 1932 - Established
the first national
forensic lab
• FBI is the world’s
largest forensic lab.
…yet Sherlock Holmes, a
fictitious character, was one
of the first true forensic
scientists…