History of Fingerprinting

o   http://www.fingerprinting.com/history-of-fingerprinting.php

o   The exact time that fingerprinting first appeared is undetermined, however, evidence is shown for it occurring in Egypt in 2000 B.C.

o   The Chinese uses fingerprints on legal documents; however there is later an argument over if their purpose was to identify individuals or rather for spiritual practices.

o    In Persia in 1350, official documents had evidence of fingerprints, but whether their purpose was to identify individuals is still in question.

     §  One government official questioned if there were any two fingerprints exactly alike.

o   http://onin.com/fp/fphistory.html

o   In 1686, Marcello Malpighi identified fingerprints having ridges, spirals, and loops in his treatise. There was no indication that they could be used for identification

o   In July 1858, Sir William James Herschel introduced fingerprints by using them in his native contracts. At first his aim was not to use them for identification, but he began to notice that each fingerprint was unique as well as permanent. This led him to expand their use.

o   In 1863, Professor Paul-Jean Coulier observes that latent fingerprints can be developed on paper by iodine fuming and explains how to preserve or them. He also notes that they could possibly be used in identifying suspects.

o   In 1880, Dr. Henry Faulds is credited with the first fingerprint identification of a greasy fingerprint left on an alcohol bottle.

o   In 1882, Gilbert Thompson brings fingerprints to the U.S. to prevent forgery on a t=document.

o   In 1892, Juan Vucetich was the first to use a fingerprint to identify a criminal.

o   In 1892, Sir Francis Galton published a book that stated fingerprints were unique and permanent. He also created an identification system for them.

o   In 1902, Henry P. DeForrest  as part of the New York Civil Service Commission, brings fingerprinting to the U.S.

o   In 1903, the New York State Prison system is the first to fingerprint criminals.

o   From 1905 to 1908, the U.S. military and the Department of Justice begin using fingerprints.

o   In 1918, Edmond Locard writes that if 12 points are the same in two fingerprints then they are the same.

o   In 1924, the U.S. Congress establishes the Identification Division of the FBI.

o   In 2005, INTERPOL's Automated Fingerprint Identification System collects over 50,000 fingerprints for important criminal records from various countries.

o   In 2011, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security contains the largest AFIS repository, which contains over 100 million records. Additionally, all US States have individual AFIS databases.