Crime and Justice Atlas

How Justice Is Served
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Criminologists and Reformers

Edward Oscar Heinrich

Also Known As America's Sherlock Holmes
Forensic Science Pioneers

Edward Oscar Heinrich, who lived from 1881 to 1953, was an American forensic scientist and lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley who opened one of the nation's first private crime laboratories in 1910. Over a career spanning roughly forty years he applied chemistry, microscopy and other scientific methods to an estimated two thousand criminal cases, including developing microscopic bullet analysis techniques used in the 1925 case against the killer of Charles Colwell. His striking success in solving cases through physical evidence led the press to nickname him America's Sherlock Holmes.

Facts
Birth Year
1881 1
Death Year
1953 1
Birthplace
Clintonville, Wisconsin 1
Nationality
American 2
Defining Contribution
Opened the nation's first private crime lab 1
Connections

Disciplines Pioneered

Edward Oscar Heinrich, dubbed "America's Sherlock Holmes," was an early American forensic scientist who applied chemistry, microscopy and physics across hundreds of criminal cases, helping establish criminalistics as a general applied discipline in the United States.

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Edward O. Heinrich
  • Infobox, birth_date
    1881-04-20
  • Infobox, death_date
    1953-09-28
  • Infobox, birth_place
    Clintonville, Wisconsin, US
  • Career
    America's Sherlock Holmes
  • Introduction
    opened the nation's first private crime lab
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Edward Oscar Heinrich
Wikidata: Edward Oscar Heinrich
Wikidata Q104879110, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.