March 27, 1905, Fingerprints convict the Stratton Brothers in England
Just thought some of you might find this interesting, from History.com. Today marks the first time, back in 1905 that fingerprints were used to convict someone in a major trial.
How many times in films did we see Charlie use this method to obtain evidence? Here's the link:
Re: March 27, 1905, Fingerprints convict the Stratton Brothers in England
Dear Lou,
It is always fascinating to learn of the advent of various crime-solving tools! Yes, Charlie Chan not only used fingerprints, often collected in unorthodox ways, to aid in the solutions to a crime, but he had instances where he actually CREATED copies of fingerprints!
Re: March 27, 1905, Fingerprints convict the Stratton Brothers in England
Yes Rush, I remember in film Charlie was always fingering around (pun intended) with those prints. Ironically, the only time in a novel (that I recall,) when Charlie used fingerprints was the final book: "Keeper of the Keys (1932)."
Perhaps more so in the films as they were produced later as fingerprints became more standard in crime detection?
Keeper of the Keys:
"Ah, but we are more unfortunate—we live in age of science," Charlie smiled. "Great marvels happen all times, and world gets less human by minute. Sorry to say I possess utensils to get scientific here and now. I will proceed to examine fatal pistol and discover not a print on it. The suspense will be terrible. Humbly suggest you ease your mind by careful study of room."
He sat down at the desk and busied himself with his lampblack and brush.
