Forensic Science

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the history of forensic science can be traced as far back as when prehistoric man left behind evidence of fingerprints in early paintings and rock carvings and to the 700s A.D. when the Chinese began using fingerprints to establish the identity of documents and clay sculpture but without any formal classification system. The author points out that a German immunologist Paul Uhlenhuth is believed to have performed the first autopsy in 1901. The paper concludes that forensic science is an important development because it has helped to solve so many crimes which would otherwise have remained a mystery, and has made important strides in solving cases from the past, which have been left open.

From the Paper:

"By the nineteenth century, advances in forensic medicine, as it was first called, became much more frequent. Around 1800, Thomas Bewick, an English naturalist, identified the books he published by using engravings of his own fingerprints. In 1810, Eugene Francois Vidoq made a deal with police to establish the first detective force (oddly enough, this deal was made in return for a suspension of arrest and a jail sentence). Also, in 1810, the first recorded use of question document analysis was performed in Germany."

More papers on Forensic Science:

• Essay # 70419 : "Forensic Science"
• Term Paper # 129151 : "Application of Scientific Method to Forensic Science"
• Essay # 34439 : "Methodologies of Forensic Science"
• Term Paper # 128359 : "21st Century Forensic Science"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: