History of Forensics
History
In sixteenth century Europe, medical practitioners in army and university settings began to gather information on cause and manner of death. Ambroise Paré, a French armysurgeon, systematically studied the effects of violent death on internal organs. Two Italian surgeons, Fortunato Fidelis and Paolo Zacchia, laid the foundation of modern pathologyby studying changes which occurred in the structure of the body as the result of disease. In the late 1700s, writings on these topics began to appear. These included: A Treatise on Forensic Medicine and Public Health by the French physician Fodéré, and The Complete System of Police Medicine by the German medical expert Johann Peter Franck. Information provided by the History of Forensic Science
In 1776, Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele devised a way of detecting arsenous oxide, simple arsenic, in corpses, although only in large quantities. This investigation was expanded, in 1806, by German chemist Valentin Ross, who learned to detect the poison in the walls of a victim's stomach, and by English chemist James Marsh, who used chemical processes to confirm arsenic as the cause of death in an 1836 murder trial. Information provided by the National Animal Welfare Trust.
Notable Forensic Scientists
- Michael Baden (1934 – )
- William M. Bass
- Joseph Bell (1837 – 1911)
- Sara C. Bisel (1932 – 1996)
- Ellis R. Kerley (1924 – 1998)
- Paul L. Kirk (1902 – 1970)
- Clea Koff (1972 – )
- Wilton M. Krogman (1903 – 1987)
- Henry C. Lee (1938 – )
- Edmond Locard (1877 – 1966)
- William R. Maples (1937 – 1997)
- Keith Simpson (1907 – 1985)
- Clyde Snow (1928 – )
- Bernard Spilsbury (1877 – 1947)
- Auguste Ambroise Tardieu (1818 – 1879)
- Paul Uhlenhuth (1870 – 1957)
- Cyril Wecht (1931 – )
Two early examples of English forensic science in individual legal proceedings demonstrate the increasing use of logic and procedure in criminal investigations. In 1784, in Lancaster, England, John Toms was tried and convicted for murdering Edward Culshaw with a pistol. When the dead body of Culshaw was examined, a pistol wad (crushed paper used to secure powder and balls in the muzzle) found in his head wound matched perfectly with a torn newspaper found in Toms' pocket. In Warwick, England, in 1816, a farm labourer was tried and convicted of the murder of a young maidservant. She had been drowned in a shallow pool and bore the marks of violent assault. The police found footprints and an impression from corduroy cloth with a sewn patch in the damp earth near the pool. There were also scattered grains of wheat and chaff. The breeches of a farm labourer who had been threshing wheat nearby were examined and corresponded exactly to the impression in the earth near the pool. Later in the 20th century, several British pathologists,Bernard Spilsbury, Francis Camps, Sydney Smith and Keith Simpson would pioneer new forensic science methods in Britain. In 1909 Rodolphe Archibald Reiss founded the first school of forensic science in the world: the "Institut de police scientifique" in the University of Lausanne (UNIL). For more information please visit History of Forensic Science.
