Alphonse Bertillon (1853–1914)
French police officer and biometrics researcher who applied the anthropological technique of anthropometry to law enforcement creating an identification system based on physical measurements. Created by: PICRYL - Public Domain Media Search Engine Dated: 1853Alphonse Bertillon was a French policeman and photographer known for developing the first scientific system of criminal identification. Born in Paris in 1853, he was the son of Louis-Adolphe Bertillon, a prominent physician and statistician.
Bertillon joined the Paris police force in 1879 and quickly became interested in developing a more accurate method of identifying criminals. At the time, the only way to identify a criminal was through eyewitness testimony or physical characteristics such as scars or tattoos.
Bertillon began experimenting with different measurements of the human body and developed a system that used a combination of measurements to create a unique profile for each individual. This system, known as Bertillonage, involved taking measurements of the head, torso, arms and legs, as well as photographs and detailed descriptions of physical features.
The Bertillon system was quickly adopted by police forces around the world and was used to identify thousands of criminals. However, it was not infallible and was eventually replaced by fingerprinting as the primary method of identification.
In addition to his work in criminal identification, Bertillon was also a skilled photographer and used his skills to document crime scenes and evidence. He died in 1914 at the age of 61.