History of Forensic Science Timeline

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key historical figures, legal cases, and technological milestones in forensic science.

DNA Profiling in U.S. Courts

Introduced for the first time in a U.S. court.

Sir Alec Jeffreys

Developed the first DNA fingerprinting test and used it to solve two murders in England.

World Trade Center 9/11 Victim Identification

887 victims of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center were identified exclusively through DNA testing.

AFIS Fingerprint Database

Database for which the FBI introduced computerized searches.

The Green River Killer

Identified using forensic science.

Kary Mullis

Published a paper describing polymerase chain reaction.

Edmund Locard

Established the first police laboratory.

Anthropometry at Scotland Yard

Replaced by fingerprint identifications at Scotland Yard.

Charles Norris

Hired by NYC as its first trained medical examiner.

Karl Landsteiner

Discovered human blood groupings.

Professor R.A. Reiss

Set up one of the first academic curricula in forensic science at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.

Victor Balthazard

Published the first article on individualizing bullet markings.

American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS)

Professional organization established for forensic scientists.

Electron Microscope in Forensics

Used to detect gun shot residue.

Paul Kirk

Published the first comprehensive textbook on criminalistics.

Frye v. United States

Court decision establishing that polygraph tests are not admissible in court.

Sacco and Vanzetti Case

Popularized the use of bullet comparisons.

FBI Crime Laboratory

Federal criminalistics laboratory that was established.

Quintilian

An attorney in the Roman Courts who showed that bloody palm prints were meant to frame a blind man for murder.

John Toms

In England, convicted of murder based on physically matching a piece of newspaper caught in a pistol to a torn piece in his pocket.

Ancient Chinese Fingerprinting

Used fingerprints to establish identity.

Francois DeMelle

Published the first treatise on systematic document examination.

Marcello Malpighi

A professor at the University of Bologna who noted fingerprint characteristics.

Ancient Chinese Medical Book

Describes how to distinguish drowning from strangulation.

James Marsh

Inventor of the Marsh test for arsenic detection, who was the first to use toxicology in a jury trial.

Eugene Francois Vidocq

Established the first detective force in Paris.

Matthew Orfila

Published a textbook on poisons.

Calvin Goddard

Carried out bullet comparisons for the first time.