Forensic Science Timeline: Ancient Times to Modern History

Voiceprint identification was first studied at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey. L.G. Kersta refined the technique.

Oswald Avery (1877–1955), Colin MacLeod (1909–1972), and Maclyn McCarty (1911–2005) discover that DNADNA, or Deoxyribonucleic Acid, is the genetic material found in cells, composed of a double helix structure. It serves as the genetic blueprint for all living organisms. Read Full Definition carries genetic information.

1945 Frank Lundquist, working at the Legal Medicine Unit at the University of Copenhagen, developed the acid phosphataseAcid phosphatase- an enzyme found in many tissues but is 500 to 1000 times more active in human semen than any other body fluid. May be used forensically as an indicator for the presence of semen. Read Full Definition test for semen.

Mourant first described the Lewis blood group system. R.R. Race first described the Kell blood group system, and in 1950, M. Cutbush and colleagues first described the Duffy blood group system. F. H. Allen and colleagues first described the Kidd blood grouping system in 1951.

Keith Simpson launches the science of bite mark analysis (forensic odontology) when he examines bite marks on a dead woman.

Max Frei-Sulzer, the founder of the first Swiss criminalistics laboratory, developed the tape lift method of collecting trace evidenceTrace evidence - Physical evidence that results from the transfer of small quantities of materials (e.g., hair, textile fibers, paint chips, glass fragments, gunshot residue particles). Read Full Definition.

• The American Academy of Forensic ScienceDiscover the fascinating field of Forensic Science, the application of scientific principles to legal matters. This post delves into its many disciplines, from DNA analysis to crime scene investigation, its importance in the justice system, Read Full Definition (AAFS) is founded in Chicago.
• The group also began the publication of the Journal of Forensic Science (JFS) in 1956. Its first editor was Samuel Azor Levinson, professor of pathology at the College of Medicine, University of Illinois, Chicago.

British researchers Martin and Synge receive the Nobel Prize for their invention of gas-liquid partition chromatography, a powerful method of analyzing mixtures of drugs and poisons.

Kirk published Crime Investigation, one of the first comprehensive criminalistics and crime investigation texts that encompassed theory in addition to practice.

James Watson (1928– ), Francis Crick (1916–2004), and Maurice Wilkins (1916–2004) identify DNA’s double-helical structure.

R. F. BORKENSTEIN, captain of the Indiana State Police, invents the Breathalyzer for field sobriety testing.

• De SARAM publishes careful and detailed measurements of temperature in control cases obtained from executed prisoners. His papers are considered landmarks in determining the time since death from body cooling.
• De SARAM further published important papers on time since death in 1957.
• FIDDES and PATTEN write a classic paper on the determination of time since death from cooling in 1958

The murder trial of Dr. Sam Sheppard publicized blood spatter evidenceEvidence is any form of proof, such as objects, materials, or scientific findings, presented to establish or disprove a fact in a legal proceeding. It is used to reconstruct events and link or exclude individuals Read Full Definition and inspired several movies, TV programs, and books.

The growth stages of skeletal bones are identified by Americans. Thomas Mocker and Thomas Stewart formed the basis of forensic anthropologyForensic anthropology is a special sub-field of physical anthropology (the study of human remains) that involves applying skeletal analysis and techniques in archaeology to solving criminal cases. Read Full Definition.

A. S. Weiner and colleagues introduced H-lectin to determine O blood type positively.

HARRISON and GILROY introduce a qualitative colorimetric chemical test to detect the presence of barium, antimony, and lead on the hands of individuals who fired firearms.

Maurice MÜLLER, a Swiss scientist, adapts the Ouchterlony antibody-antigen diffusion test for precipitin testing to determine species.

MARSHALL and co-workers write a series of papers on the determination of time since death from postmortem cooling.

Lucas, in Canada, described the application of gas chromatography (GC) to identify petroleum products in the forensic laboratory and discussed potential limitations in the brand identity of gasoline.

A sound spectrograph was discovered to be able to record voices. Voiceprints began to be used in investigations and as court evidence from recordings of phones, answering machines, or tape recorders.