Monday, November 14, 2011

History of Hair and Fiber Analysis

As one of the most recent and upcoming methods in pinning a criminal that forensics has to offer, hair and fiber analysis has helped solve many crimes over the years. Since hair strands are almost as unique as your fingerprints, hairs are another vital clue at any crime scene.

  • In 1899, Francois Goron, a forensic scientist, noticed one key detail of the unknown victim: their dyed hair. This discovery led the scientists to uncover the identity of the victim.
  • In 1910, an unprecedented tome called The Hair of Man and Animals was published by forensic scientists Marcelle Lambert and Victor Balthazard, which includes many microscopic studies of hair from mammals.
  • Comparison microscopes, which give a side-by-side view of two hairs or fibers, first happened in 1934, spearheaded by Dr. Sydney Smith.
View from a comparison microscope

2 comments:

  1. Nice history of hair and fiber analysis really descriptive

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  2. i like that you put it in bullets. makes it much easier to read

    ReplyDelete