The idea that fingerprints conformed to several pattern types pre-dated GaltonвЂ™s research. Using the main characters of each fingerprint, arch, loop or whorl he arrived at a classification system. He looked at fingerprints from the same person, over the years, to determine if fingerprints changed as people got older. He spent many years examining large numbers of fingerprints to try to establish their unique attributes. He was enthusiastic about this technique, but in order to be accepted by the law enforcement authorities, he needed to establish that fingerprints do not change through adult life and that the variety of fingerprints is extremely wide and can be easily classified. His experiments led him to consider how measurement could be used for identification of individuals, particularly in relation to policing and detection of crime. Galton and others became convinced that fingerprints could be used to positively identify an individual, and realising how useful this could prove in the sphere of criminology and the identification of individuals in accidents and financial disputes, he began experiments to determine if fingerprints could positively identify a person.

Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland, used under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Ordnance Survey 6 inch series, Warwickshire Sheet XIV SW, 1899, showing the area where Francis Galton was born. In this blog post, I will be focussing on his pioneering work in fingerprinting. A man of many interests, he went on to write several books and hundreds of scientific papers, his research contributing to the furthering of knowledge in a wide range of scientific subjects.

In 1840, he attended Trinity College, Cambridge where for a while he studied medicine before changing to mathematics. His parents wished him to go into the medical profession, so he was apprenticed to several Birmingham doctors and trained at the Birmingham General Hospital and KingвЂ™s College London. He attended several Birmingham schools before entering King EdwardвЂ™s School, Birmingham in 1836. Francis Galton was born on 16th February 1822 into an important, wealthy Quaker family who lived in Sparkbrook, Birmingham in the area between Priestly Road and Larches Street.

Galton characteristics