History of Forensics: a TIMELINE

Early Discoveries In 250 B.C. Erasistratus noticed that his patient’s pulse would increase when they were telling a lie.

In 1828, William Nichol invented the polarizing light microscope. In 1837, Walter Specht developed luminol.

1879, Bertillon’s Anthropometry comes on the scene.

1903 – The William West – Will West Case at a Federal Prison in Leavenworth, Kansas, changed the way that people were classified and identified. Anthropometry out … fingerprints in.

In 1889, Alexandre Lacassagne matched bullets to a gun barrel using the number of grooves present – called “rifling”.

1892, first criminal fingerprint identification identified the mother! FINGERPRINTS 1858, fingerprints identify an individual in India as the owner of a building, stamped on a document, because he couldn’t write. 1882, a surveyor in New Mexico put his fingerprints on a survey to show that it was his. 1892, first criminal fingerprint identification identified the mother!

1900’s Early 1900’s, Locard established first police crime lab, developed his exchange principle: “Every contact leaves a trace” In 1901 A, B, and O blood types discovered in Vienna, Austria, while trying to figure out why transfusions were killing people.

DNA PROFILING 1984, Sir Alec Jeffreys developed DNA manipulation techniques, now used world-wide DNA solved the Colin Pitchfork case. 1ST CASE in which a suspect was eliminated using DNA

TIME LINE ASSIGNMENT 1879 (DRAWING) Anthropometry 1. Groups of 3 2. Assemble 6 events or discoveries, on 6 pages, taped together short end to short end. 3. Indicate year at top; invention/discovery at bottom… like this: 1879 (DRAWING) Anthropometry