It is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's birthday. He of Sherlock Holmes fame.
From Wikipedia: Holmes could be looked upon then as the forerunner of modern forensic sciences:
- Use of typewritten letters to expose a fraud ("A Case of Identity")
- Deduction of murder from two pieces of human remains ("The Adventure of the Cardboard Box")
- Observation of gunpowder residue on victim ("The Adventure of the Reigate Squire")
- Observation of use of bullets from murder weapon from two crime scenes ("The Adventure of the Empty House")
- Use of fingerprint to free an innocent man ("The Adventure of the Norwood Builder")
All this about a century ago. Can you imagine what he could do with today's data mining, DNA testing and other technologies?
Update: Erik Keller calls us bloggers from last week's Sapphire the Baker Enterprise Street Irregulars. I, for one, am honored though I suspect Jeff Nolan and Mike Prosceno of SAP use more colorful language than "Elementary -My dear Watson"
