Developed by Alphonse Bertillon in 1879, Bertillonage consists of a meticulous method of measuring body parts for the use of identifying criminals. In 1892, Sir Francis Galton published his highly influential book, Finger Prints in which he described his classification system that include three main fingerprint patterns – loops, whorls and arches.Īt the time, the alternative to fingerprints was Bertillonage, also known as Anthropometry. Henry Faulds was the first European to publish the notion of scientific use of fingerprints in the identification of criminals. It is unclear whom to credit for the classification system. Henry Faulds and Sir Francis Galton did not engage in much correspondence, but in the following decade, they devised very similar fingerprint classification systems. Faulds, but agreed to forward the letter to his cousin, Sir Francis Galton. Henry Faulds wrote to Charles Darwin, explaining a system for classifying fingerprints, asking for his assistance in their development.

The fingerprint records collected at this time were used for one-to-one verification only as a means in which records would be logically filed and searched had not yet been invented. In roughly 1859, Sir William James Herschel discovered that fingerprints remain stable over time and are unique across individuals as Chief Magistrate of the Hooghly district in Jungipoor, India, in 1877 he was the first to institute the use of fingerprints and handprints as a means of identification, signing legal documents, and authenticating transactions. Although fingerprint characteristics were studied as far back as the mid-1600s, the use of fingerprints as a means of identification did not occur until the mid-19th century.

Galton fingerprints book