The History of Forensic Science Highlighting SOME of the World’s Contributors

250 BC - Archimedes Hiero II commissioned a gold crown. When he got the crown, he was suspicious the goldsmith had made the crown out of gold and silver. He wanted Archimedes to figure it out without harming the holy object. Archimedes used density, weight, and water displacement to figure out the crown was part gold and part silver. Gold is more dense than silver. If you have equal weights of gold and silver, the gold will displace less water.

40 BC - Antistius He preformed an autopsy on a very famous stabbing victim……Julius Caesar. Caesar had been stabbed 23 times. This is perhaps the first recorded evidence of application of medical knowledge to solve a homicide – and helped develop the role of an expert witness who is a pathologist.

1247 - China Song Ci wrote a book called Washing Away of Wrongs, documenting the first case of forensic entomology. A stabbing occurred. By testing various blades on animals, it was determined a sickle was the weapon. All villagers were asked to line up with their sickles. Shiny green blow flies quickly covered one sickle (blood and tissue had remained on the sickle). The peasant confessed.

1823 - Mathiew Orfila The Father of Modern Toxicology. He determined the effect of poisons on animals. He also used microscopes to assess blood and other body fluids.

1836 - James Marsh Developed the Marsh Test for Arsenic. It is so sensitive it can detect 0.02 g of the poison. Combine a sample with sulfuric acid and zinc, resulting in arsine gas. When ignited, the gas decomposes to metallic arsenic which, when passed to a cold surface, appears as a silvery-black deposit. Arsenic interferes with the cellular process of making ATP. Minor poisoning results in headaches, confusion, and yellowing of nails. Major poisoning results in multi-organ failure, convulsions, coma, and death.

1880’s - Major L.W. Atcherley What would you want to know to determine MO? This English police constable coined the term modus operandi (“method of operation” or MO). Information from different crime scenes is used to establish a pattern of behavior that indicates a common perpetrator. Location of the crime Point and method of entry Tools that were used during the crime Types of objects taken from the crime scene Time of day the crime was committed The perpetrator's alibi The perpetrator's accomplices Method of transportation to and from the scene Unusual features of the crime, such as killing the family dog or leaving behind a note or object to taunt the police

1887 – Alphonse Bertillion He developed anthropometry – a system of taking many different body measurements to individualize people.

The Downfall of Anthropometry 1903 Leavenworth Federal Prison A prisoner named Will West was brought to the prison and had his measurements taken. His measurements matched a prisoner already in the prison named William West. Despite the system there was no way to tell the two apart. The only noticeable difference between the two men was their fingerprints. Will West William West

1892 - Galton and Henry Galton Henry Published the first book on fingerprints and their use in solving crime. He described 8 categories of fingerprints: plain arch, tented arch, simple loop, central pocket loop, double loop, lateral pocket loop, plain whorl, and accidental. He used to statistics to state the probability of whether two people would have the same prints. Used Galton’s work to develop the Henry Classification System of grouping people based on their fingerprints.

1900 – Karl Landsteiner He discovered blood typing groups (A, B, AB, and C – which was later renamed O)

1904 – Edmond Locard Locard’s Exchange Principle: "It is impossible for a criminal to act, especially considering the intensity of a crime, without leaving traces of this presence.“ He also suggested 12 matching points needed to make a positive fingerprint identification.

1908 – Teddy Roosevelt He established the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 1924 National Fingerprint file organized 1932 Crime Lab established 1935 National Police Academy formed 1935 Bureau renamed FBI (originally it was called the Bureau of Investigation)

1915 - Leon Lattes He figured out how to test a dried bloodstain at a crime scene to figure out what blood group it belonged to. The test for ABO groups is formally called the Lattes Test. Blood evidence from a jewelry store robbery

1920’s – Calvin Goddard Developed the Comparison Microscope to help determine if a gun had fired a specific bullet. St. Valentine’s Day Massacre: 7 underlings of Chicago mob boss George “Bugs” Moran were arrested and then gunned down by what appeared to be cops. Goddard showed the bullets were not from cop guns, but were in fact from guns found at a hit man’s house….a hit man employed by Al “Scarface” Capone.

1970 – AFIS and later SAFIS AFIS - (Automated Fingerprint Identification System) is introduced by the FBI SAFIS - (State Automated Fingerprint Identification System) Who gets entered into AFIS/SAFIS? Those arrested, crime scene evidence, people who want a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and……. Police officers and teachers as part of a background check…but then their records are cleared

1971 - William Bass III Bass establishes the Body Farm outside Knoxville, TN. Here, corpses are subjected to various conditions to help investigators learn more about a crime.

1987 - Sir Alec Jeffreys He used DNA profiling to identify a murderer in England. Colin Pitchfork – His DNA (and that of 5000 local men) was compared to crime scene evidence from two murdered 15 year olds. His DNA matched. An innocent man was released as a result. Sir Alec Jeffreys

1989 – First Time DNA Profiling is Used in a U.S. Court. In July 1979, Gary Dotson was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and rape. He was sentenced to 25 – 50 years. In 1985, the victim recanted and said she had lied. DNA samples were analyzed and tests revealed that DNA from the victim's clothes could not have come from Dotson. In 1989, his sentence was overturned after he had already served 8 years.

1998 - CODIS Combined DNA Index System A DNA Database to assist in linking crimes introduced by the FBI. Who gets entered into CODIS? Convicted felons, crime scene evidence, missing persons, and unidentified human remains.