Forensic Science: The 1800s
In the 1800s the field of forensic science saw substantial progress. The decade saw:
- the first recorded use of questioned document analysis;
- the development of tests for the presence of blood in a forensic context;
- a bullet comparison used to catch a murderer;
- the first use of toxicology (arsenic detection) in a jury trial;
- the development of the first crystal test for hemoglobin using hemin crystals;
- the development of a presumptive test for blood;
- the first use of photography for the identification of criminals and documentation of evidence and crime scenes;
- the first recorded use of fingerprints to solve a crime, and
- development of the first microscope with a comparison bridge.
Forensic science was significantly applied in 1888, when doctors in London, England, were allowed to examine the victims of Jack the Ripper for wound patterns.