History of Fingerprinting

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Tim Redmond, MSCJ

Ancient History Friction ridge skin impressions were used as proof of a

person’s identity in China as early as 300 B.C.

In Japan as early as A.D 702

In the United States since 1902

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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Chinese Earthenware Earthenware containing fingerprint impressions estimated to

be 6000 years old was found at an archaeological site in

northwest China

Oldest found to date

Unknown if they were deposited accidentally or with a

specific intent.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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221 B.C. to A.D 1637 Chinese paper entitled “The Volume of Crime Scene

Investigations-Burglary” from the Qin Dynasty (221-208 B.C)

mentions how handprints were used as a type of evidence.

Used in clay impressions on documents and books as

author’s signature

After the invention of paper by the Chinese in A.D. 105 it was

standard to use handprints or fingerprints on documents

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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Japan Enacted a law in A.D. 702 that if a man could not

write, another man could write the document for him after

which he would he would sign it with his own index finger.

Indicates that the Japanese had some understanding of the

individuality of fingerprints.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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India Belief that the use of handprints was adopted by the nobility

in India as a stamp on official documents

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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17th and 18th Centuries In 1684 Dr. Nehemiah Grew described in friction ridge skin in

detail.

Marked the beginning in the Western Hemisphere of friction ridge

skin observations and characterizations.

In 1687 the Italian physiologist, Marcello Malpighi published a

paper of the function, form, and structure of friction ridges.

He was also the first person to use the newly invented

microscope for medical studies.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1788 J.C. Mayer a German doctor and anatomist wrote a book

about the uniqueness of friction ridges.

Contained drawings of friction ridge patterns

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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19th Century Thomas Berwick an English wood engraver and ornithologist

left wood engravings of his fingermark of several wood

engravings of birds and other animals between 1809 and

1826.

Very detailed engravings

Unknown if Berwick understood the value of friction ridge skin for

individualization.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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In 1823 Dr. Johannes E. Purkinje, a German university

professor wrote a thesis in which he classified fingerprint

patterns into nine categories.

These became the precursor to the Henry classification system.

German anthropologist, Hermann Welker, wrote on the study

of fingerprint permanence.

Printed his own hand in 1856 and again in 1897.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1858 Sir William James Hershchel is generally recognized as the

first person to study the persistence of friction ridges.

Started while serving as the British Administrator in India

In 1877 after being appointed as a Magistrate in the Calcutta

area of India he started recording friction ridges as a means of

individualization.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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As a Magistrate, Herschel, was able to order the

fingerprinting of prisoners, deed registration, and pension

payments.

Wrote a letter known as the “Hooghly Letter” to British

officials encouraging the use of fingerprints to be expanded

to other geographic areas.

Continued the study of friction ridges throughout his lifetime

and published a paper on their permanence

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1877 A lecture by Thomas Taylor, a microscopist for the U.S.

Department of Agriculture, concerning prints and their

application concerning crime solutions when bloody prints

were found on a crime scene.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1879 Alphonse Bertilion, a clerk, for the police in Paris, France

started devising a system of body measurements to be used

for criminal identification.

Known as Anthropometry

Implemented in 1882

Eventually named as the Chief of he Department of Judicial

Identity in 1888

Recognized as the father of criminal identification

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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After experimentation proved the usefulness of friction ridges

it was added to the anthropometric file

Anthropometry was used from 1882 until 1914 when it was

replaced by fingerprinting.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1883 Dr. Arthur Kollman of Germany published an research article

that friction ridges were formed during the forth month of fetal

life.

He also was the first to identify the presence and locations of

volar pads on the hands and feet.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1891 The French medical/legal scientist, Rene Forgeot published a

thesis in which he proposed using powders and chemicals to

develop latent prints at crime scenes in order to individualize

the person who had touched an object.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1892 Sir Francis Galton, a prominent scientist authored the first

book on fingerprints

Established the uniqueness and permanence of friction ridge skin

Also identified and defined the minutiae within a print.

While Galton was doing research that would advance the

science of fingerprints, fingerprints were being used in

practical applications.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1880 Henry Faulds, a British Medical Missionary opened a hospital

in Japan.

Found pottery on a beach which contained friction ridge

impressions which lead him to study friction ridge detail on

people and monkeys.

Communicated his findings to Charles Darwin (Evolutionist)

Published an article about friction ridges and proposed it’s

use at crime scenes.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1892 Juan Vucetich, a statistician for the Central Police

Department in La Plata, Argentina was promoted to the head

of Anthropometric Identification.

Had started experimenting with fingerprints after reading a copy

of Galton’s book.

-Implemented his own classification system for the bureau in

1892 for the individualism of criminal prisoners.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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First practical use of fingerprint science by law enforcement

In 1892 a murder in Buenos Aires was solved when an

investigator trained by Vucetich discovered a bloody print at

the crime scene which matched that of Francesca Rojas

whose two daughters had been murdered and she blamed a

man who was jealous because she loved someone else.

First homicide case ever solved by fingerprint evidence.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1897 In 1894 Sir Richard Henry, Inspector of Police in Bengali,

India began collaborating with Sir Francis Galton on a

method for the classification of fingerprints and the Henry

System was developed.

After outside review the Henry Fingerprint Classification

System was found to be superior to Anthropometry, and was

sanctioned as the means for the identification of prisoners.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1900 In England, the Belper Committee, after hearing testimony on

the application of fingerprints for individualization and the

Henry Classification System it became the standard of

practice in England.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1902 Alphonse Bertillon, was called upon to assist in a murder

investigation in France.

Located and photographed bloody prints on broken glass at the

scene

Determined the prints were not those of the victim

Started a search of his anthropometric cards which by that time

had fingerprints added to them.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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Found a card which contained fingerprints which matched the

prints taken from the scene.

Murder suspect arrested and convicted.

Bertillon given credit for solving the first murder in Europe with

the use of only fingerprint evidence.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1902 New York Civil Service Commission started printing

applicants to prevent impostors from taking tests for

unqualified applicants.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1903 American Fingerprint Classification System developed in

New York by Captain James Parke after all prisoners were

fingerprinted upon release

This was the first systematic use of fingerprinting for criminal record

purposes in the United States.

William West and Will West incident at Ft. Leavenworth

Prison

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1904 Fingerprint identification was in a display booth at the World’s

Fair in St Louis which was manned by Inspector John Kenneth Ferrier of New Scotland, and made presentations to law enforcement officials from throughout the U.S.

Remained in the U.S. to teach others about fingerprinting to include development of latent prints with powders.

Those he trained went on to teach fingerprinting science to law enforcement and military personnel throughout the rest of America.

Fingerprinting of all inmates at Ft. Leavenworth Prison began which was the beginning of the U.S. Government’s fingerprint collection.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1905 Inspector Charles Collins, Scotland Yard, testified about the

identification of a suspect’s fingerprint on a cash box in a

murder case. (Deptford Murder Trial) During which he

Explained the classification system

The individualization of fingerprints

Used a chart to point out matching ridge detail

That in his years of experience he had never found two people

having the same fingerprint.

First trial in England where fingerprints were used as

evidence.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1910-1911

People v. Jennings (Illinois Case)

Testimony from fingerprint experts concerning latent prints found

on a murder scene belonging to the defendant which lead to a

murder conviction.

Defense appealed the use of fingerprint evidence and expert

witness testimony

One of the experts was Mary Holland, a Navy Fingerprint Trainer

and first American female instructor of fingerprinting.

In a Landmark Decision for fingerprinting the conviction was

upheld by the Illinois Supreme Court.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1911 People v. Crispi

Burglary case with only fingerprint evidence

Lt. Joseph Faurot presented evidence identifying the defendant’s

latent prints on a pane of glass.

Did a courtroom demonstration using jurors and other courtroom

personnel

Defendant changed plea to guilty

Believed to be the first U.S. case where defendant was convicted

by fingerprint evidence alone.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1914 Dr. Edmund Locard, Director of the Laboratory of Police at

Lyon, France

Published “The Legal Evidence by the Fingerprints”

Had been a student of Alphonse Bertillon

Example of law enforcement personnel conducting research into

fingerprint science

Known for the “Locard Theory of Exchange”

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1924 FBI Identification Division established

Originally started with 810,188 criminal fingerprint files

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1939 State v. Johnson

Supreme Court of Washington State allowed the used of certified

copies of fingerprints to convict a defendant of being a habitual

offender

Instead of having officials from other locations to testify to prior

convictions

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1939 First use in the United States of fingerprinting in a disaster

USS Squalus, a submarine, sank 240 feet to the bottom of

the ocean

U.S. Navy Identification Division identified all of the

recovered bodies through fingerprint identification.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1940 FBI participated for the first time in a disaster identification

Crash of an airliner in Lovettstville, Louisiana

FBI Agent and clerk on board

Members of the FBI fingerprint identification section dispatched

Fingerprints assisted in the identification of victims

Beginning of the FBI Disaster Response Unit

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1953 Salil Kumar Chatterjeee, Calcutta, India; published the book

Finger, Palm, and Sole Prints.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1960’s FBI criminal fingerprint file grows to over 15 million

individuals

65 million in civilian file due to WW II and Korean War

30,000 cards hand searched daily

Punch card sorting introduced

FBI started meeting with representatives of police from U.K.,

France, and Japan to discuss the feasibility of computerizing

fingerprint files.

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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1966 to 1999 FBI puts out RFP’s for the development of fingerprint

readers

1975-1976 electronic processers built by Rockwell

International were delivered

Took three years to convert 15 million fingerprint cards

State and local agencies started automating their files

1983 San Francisco PD Experiment

1999 Over 500 AFIS sites worldwide

Tim Redmond, MSCJ

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