Oh, you’re a true crime fan? Who was the founding father of modern toxicology then? If you guessed Mathieu Orfila, then you’re 100% correct and you can keep scrolling, if you had absolutely no idea, then you should check out our list of famous forensic scientists and what they contributed to the field.
John Evangelist Purkinje and Francis Galton
We can thank both of these scientists for the whole fingerprint thing. In 1823, John Evangelist Purkinje wrote a thesis on fingerprint analysis but didn’t really explain what it could do for the field of forensics. Francis Galton, a cousin to Charles Darwin, really ran with this information and not only formulated but also outlined the very first detailed model of fingerprint analysis and advocated the use of it in forensic science.
(image via: anth)
Ellis R. Kerley
Ellis R. Kerly was an American anthropologist who is really, really good at studying human remains and is best known for pioneering the microscopic approach to the estimation of age at death from human bone. But how good is he? One of his most notable achievements was identifying the remains of Josef Mengele, the Nazi Angel of Death. Cue the full-body chills.
Edmond Locard
You know when you’re watching Dateline or listening to a true crime podcast and you’re on the edge of your seat wondering how any evidence was found because thus far it seems like the perfect crime, then inevitably there was a shoe print or something that the criminal left at the scene that leads authorities right to them? We have Edmond Locard, AKA the father of modern forensics to thank for what is known as The Locard Exchange Principle which states that every criminal leaves a trace of himself or herself behind.
J. Edgar Hoover
You can’t solve anything without a crime lab. Well, you could, but we imagine it being messy and not super organized. Anyone working in forensic science today that takes advantage of a crime lab owes this man a huge thanks. Hoover created a database that was comprised of collections of fingerprints, photographs, dossiers, and more that were all neatly compiled and categorized making solving crimes a breeze. Maybe not ‘a breeze’, but a crime lab certainly helps things run smoothly.
Hans Gross
Last, but certainly not least, Hans Gross. In 1893 Gross published an important handbook for coroners, police officials, and military policemen that suggested other fields of science be integrated into police work to help solve crimes. Without Hans Gross, there is no forensic science.
(image via: wikipedia)