44BC – First Recorded Autopsy: Antistius, a Roman physician, examined the dead body of Julius Caesar. He discovered that of the 23 times Caesar was stabbed, only the second wound had been fatal.
600 – Medical Experts: Germans and Slavs were the first to suggest that medical experts should be involved in determining the causes of death.
1248: Hsi Duanyu: Book written in China by Xiyuan Jilu, known in America as “Washing Away of Wrongs,” first textbook on forensic medicine.
1547: Study of violent death and internal organs: French army surgeon, Dr. Ambroise Pare, did a study on the effects that violent death can have on internal organs. His book discussed how to treat wounds by weapons and marked the beginning of modern forensic pathology.
1598: Forensic Science first used by Italian Fortunatus Fidelis. Not recognized until the early 19th Century.
1784: Physical Matching: John Toms was convicted of murder after a torn wad of newspaper, matching a pistol, was found in his pocket. First documented case of physical matching.
1830: Saliva: The first recorded use to human saliva being used to solve a crime.
1836: Toxicology: First used by Scottish Chemist James Marsh in a jury trial. Defined as “the branch of science concerned with nature, effects, and detection of poison.
1864: Photography: Crime Scene photography first developed.
1865: Lincoln Assassination: One April 14th, then President, Abraham Lincoln, was the first president to be assassinated.
1865: First Female Hanging: After the Lincoln Assassination, Mary Surratt became the first woman to be executed by the United States Government.
1866: Ex Parte Milligan: Supreme Court case around the time of the Lincoln Assassination that banned the use of military tribunals in places where civil courts were operational.
1880: Fine Dusting: The modern day fingerprint identification was developed by Henry Faulds and William James Herschel.
1887: Coroner’s Act: Law stating that any case of sudden, violent, or unnatural deaths must be immediately reported to a coroner.
1887: Sherlock Holmes: First Sherlock Holmes book was published by Arthur Conan Doyle in London.
1888: Jack the Ripper killings begin
1891: Criminal Investigation: Book published by Hans Gross, a professor at the Australian University of Graz, explaining the used of physical evidence in solving crimes. He is also credited with “inventing” the word criminalistics.
1892: Fingerprints unchanging: Francis Henry Galton is the first man to claim that fingerprints do not change throughout life and that everyone’s fingerprints are unique.
1901: Blood Stains: Dr. Paul Uhlenhuth discovered a way of testing blood stains to determine whether or not they were human.
1901: Fingerprinting: Fingerprinting was first introduced in Scotland Yard by Edward Richard Henry.
1901: McKinley Assassination: President William McKinley is assassinated
1902: First lie detector: Invented by Scottish cardiologist James Mackenzie
1904: L’enquete Criminelle et Les Methodes Scientifique: A passage written by Edmond Locard first introduced the possibility of “every contact leaves a trace.”
1905: Bureau of Investigation (BOI): Early version of the FBI is formed by President Roosevelt in order to keep close taps on Anarchists following the McKinley assassination.
1910: Questionable Documents: Published by the “father of science of questioned document examination,” Albert S. Osborne.
1912: Modern Lie Detector: Developed by John Larson.
1913: Bullet Markings: Professor of forensic medicine, Victor Balthazard, published the first article on recognizing individualized bullet markings.
1918: 12 Matching Points: Edmond Lucard developed the “12 Matching Points” as a way to more successful way to identify a person via their fingerprints.
1920: Weapon Documentation: Charles E. Watie was the first man to document fifteen different types of weapons
1921: Polygraph: First portable polygraph used by John Larson and Leonard Keeler.
1923: Frye v. United States: The Supreme Court ruled that polygraph test results were prohibited, stating that the polygraph testing was not a general acceptance.
1929: Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre: Two gangs, rivaling due to the prohibition era, the South Side Italian Gang (led by Al Capone) and the North Side Irish Gang (Led by Bugs Moran), got into a typical mob fight. Seven of the associates were murdered.
1929: Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory: Calvin Goddard investigated the St. Valentine’s Day massacre. Because of this work, the Scientific Crime Detection Lab was founded on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Illinois.
1932: Crime Lab: Current day FBI Crime lab is created.
1935: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): BOI officially become the present day FBI.
1947: Central Intelligence Agency: The CIA is founded by the US Congress after suggested by President Harry S. Truman.
1950: University of California at Berkeley: School of criminology was established by August Vollmer.
1951: Kidd Blood System: First use of red blood cells and kidney to help determine a person’s blood type was described by F.H. Allen and his colleagues.
1953: Criminalistics Published: Paul Kirk becomes the first person to publish a book on criminalistics called Crime Investigation.
1962: Marilyn Monroe Death: Monroe, 36 at the time, was found dead in her bedroom. Although her death was ruled as a suicide by poisoning, many have questioned whether or not she was murdered due to her alleged affairs with two of the Kennedy brothers, John and Bobby.
1963: John F. Kennedy Assassination: Then president, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated on November 22nd, in Dallas, Texas.
1966: Miranda v. Arizona: A Supreme Court case in which it was decided that anyone who was put under arrest must be read their rights and have a right to know why they’re being arrested.
1968: 911: Telephone company AT&T announces their emergency police call number, 911.
1969: “Moon Landing:” In July, the United States claims to have finally made it to the moon. To this day, however, there is still much conspiracy surrounding the landing.
1975: Fingerprint Reader in FBI: Rockwell International installs the first fingerprint reader in the FBI headquarters.
1977: Computerized Fingerprint Scans: FBI introduced the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) which provided the first computerized scans of fingerprints.
1980: New Terms: Agent Robert Ressler invents the terms “Serial Killer” (someone who kills repeatedly and obsessively on separate occasions) and “Mass murderer” (many killing at the same time). Ressler also did a study that determined most serial killers are “white, heterosexual males, above average intelligence, and between the ages of 20 and 30. He also claimed that after the murders were completed, the killers often enjoyed cannibalism, necrophilia (sexual desires or acts with dead bodies), and taking their victim’s body parts.
1980: Psychological profiling: Sex, age, ethnic background, height, weight, psychological diseases, self-esteem, remorse, guilt, aggressiveness
1982: Pepper Spray: Pepper spray is developed by using Oleoresin Capsicum (made from capsaicin, a colorless, crystalline, bitter compound found in hot peppers).
1986: People v. Pestinika: U.S. Supreme Court case in which Edward Black first used DNA testing to confirm different autopsy samples from the same person. This was the beginning of any DNA testing in the United States.
1987: New York v. Castro: First Supreme Court case in which the acceptability of DNA was challenged. It was decided that there needed to be control guidelines for GNA labs and a general forensic community.
1996: DNA Evidence Accepted: The National Academy of Science claims once and for all that there is no reason to question the dependability of DNA evidence.
2001: 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: September 11th, 2001, the Twin Towers in New York City were destroyed by planes hijacked by members of al Qaeda… Or were they?
600 – Medical Experts: Germans and Slavs were the first to suggest that medical experts should be involved in determining the causes of death.
1248: Hsi Duanyu: Book written in China by Xiyuan Jilu, known in America as “Washing Away of Wrongs,” first textbook on forensic medicine.
1547: Study of violent death and internal organs: French army surgeon, Dr. Ambroise Pare, did a study on the effects that violent death can have on internal organs. His book discussed how to treat wounds by weapons and marked the beginning of modern forensic pathology.
1598: Forensic Science first used by Italian Fortunatus Fidelis. Not recognized until the early 19th Century.
1784: Physical Matching: John Toms was convicted of murder after a torn wad of newspaper, matching a pistol, was found in his pocket. First documented case of physical matching.
1830: Saliva: The first recorded use to human saliva being used to solve a crime.
1836: Toxicology: First used by Scottish Chemist James Marsh in a jury trial. Defined as “the branch of science concerned with nature, effects, and detection of poison.
1864: Photography: Crime Scene photography first developed.
1865: Lincoln Assassination: One April 14th, then President, Abraham Lincoln, was the first president to be assassinated.
1865: First Female Hanging: After the Lincoln Assassination, Mary Surratt became the first woman to be executed by the United States Government.
1866: Ex Parte Milligan: Supreme Court case around the time of the Lincoln Assassination that banned the use of military tribunals in places where civil courts were operational.
1880: Fine Dusting: The modern day fingerprint identification was developed by Henry Faulds and William James Herschel.
1887: Coroner’s Act: Law stating that any case of sudden, violent, or unnatural deaths must be immediately reported to a coroner.
1887: Sherlock Holmes: First Sherlock Holmes book was published by Arthur Conan Doyle in London.
1888: Jack the Ripper killings begin
1891: Criminal Investigation: Book published by Hans Gross, a professor at the Australian University of Graz, explaining the used of physical evidence in solving crimes. He is also credited with “inventing” the word criminalistics.
1892: Fingerprints unchanging: Francis Henry Galton is the first man to claim that fingerprints do not change throughout life and that everyone’s fingerprints are unique.
1901: Blood Stains: Dr. Paul Uhlenhuth discovered a way of testing blood stains to determine whether or not they were human.
1901: Fingerprinting: Fingerprinting was first introduced in Scotland Yard by Edward Richard Henry.
1901: McKinley Assassination: President William McKinley is assassinated
1902: First lie detector: Invented by Scottish cardiologist James Mackenzie
1904: L’enquete Criminelle et Les Methodes Scientifique: A passage written by Edmond Locard first introduced the possibility of “every contact leaves a trace.”
1905: Bureau of Investigation (BOI): Early version of the FBI is formed by President Roosevelt in order to keep close taps on Anarchists following the McKinley assassination.
1910: Questionable Documents: Published by the “father of science of questioned document examination,” Albert S. Osborne.
1912: Modern Lie Detector: Developed by John Larson.
1913: Bullet Markings: Professor of forensic medicine, Victor Balthazard, published the first article on recognizing individualized bullet markings.
1918: 12 Matching Points: Edmond Lucard developed the “12 Matching Points” as a way to more successful way to identify a person via their fingerprints.
1920: Weapon Documentation: Charles E. Watie was the first man to document fifteen different types of weapons
1921: Polygraph: First portable polygraph used by John Larson and Leonard Keeler.
1923: Frye v. United States: The Supreme Court ruled that polygraph test results were prohibited, stating that the polygraph testing was not a general acceptance.
1929: Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre: Two gangs, rivaling due to the prohibition era, the South Side Italian Gang (led by Al Capone) and the North Side Irish Gang (Led by Bugs Moran), got into a typical mob fight. Seven of the associates were murdered.
1929: Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory: Calvin Goddard investigated the St. Valentine’s Day massacre. Because of this work, the Scientific Crime Detection Lab was founded on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Illinois.
1932: Crime Lab: Current day FBI Crime lab is created.
1935: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): BOI officially become the present day FBI.
1947: Central Intelligence Agency: The CIA is founded by the US Congress after suggested by President Harry S. Truman.
1950: University of California at Berkeley: School of criminology was established by August Vollmer.
1951: Kidd Blood System: First use of red blood cells and kidney to help determine a person’s blood type was described by F.H. Allen and his colleagues.
1953: Criminalistics Published: Paul Kirk becomes the first person to publish a book on criminalistics called Crime Investigation.
1962: Marilyn Monroe Death: Monroe, 36 at the time, was found dead in her bedroom. Although her death was ruled as a suicide by poisoning, many have questioned whether or not she was murdered due to her alleged affairs with two of the Kennedy brothers, John and Bobby.
1963: John F. Kennedy Assassination: Then president, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated on November 22nd, in Dallas, Texas.
1966: Miranda v. Arizona: A Supreme Court case in which it was decided that anyone who was put under arrest must be read their rights and have a right to know why they’re being arrested.
1968: 911: Telephone company AT&T announces their emergency police call number, 911.
1969: “Moon Landing:” In July, the United States claims to have finally made it to the moon. To this day, however, there is still much conspiracy surrounding the landing.
1975: Fingerprint Reader in FBI: Rockwell International installs the first fingerprint reader in the FBI headquarters.
1977: Computerized Fingerprint Scans: FBI introduced the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) which provided the first computerized scans of fingerprints.
1980: New Terms: Agent Robert Ressler invents the terms “Serial Killer” (someone who kills repeatedly and obsessively on separate occasions) and “Mass murderer” (many killing at the same time). Ressler also did a study that determined most serial killers are “white, heterosexual males, above average intelligence, and between the ages of 20 and 30. He also claimed that after the murders were completed, the killers often enjoyed cannibalism, necrophilia (sexual desires or acts with dead bodies), and taking their victim’s body parts.
1980: Psychological profiling: Sex, age, ethnic background, height, weight, psychological diseases, self-esteem, remorse, guilt, aggressiveness
1982: Pepper Spray: Pepper spray is developed by using Oleoresin Capsicum (made from capsaicin, a colorless, crystalline, bitter compound found in hot peppers).
1986: People v. Pestinika: U.S. Supreme Court case in which Edward Black first used DNA testing to confirm different autopsy samples from the same person. This was the beginning of any DNA testing in the United States.
1987: New York v. Castro: First Supreme Court case in which the acceptability of DNA was challenged. It was decided that there needed to be control guidelines for GNA labs and a general forensic community.
1996: DNA Evidence Accepted: The National Academy of Science claims once and for all that there is no reason to question the dependability of DNA evidence.
2001: 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: September 11th, 2001, the Twin Towers in New York City were destroyed by planes hijacked by members of al Qaeda… Or were they?