On 28 July 1858, William James Herschel became the first to use fingerprints for identification.
William James Herschel, joined the East India Company, and in 1853 was posted to Bengal.
Following the Indian Mutiny of 1857, Herschel became a member of the Indian Civil Service, and was posted to Jungipoor. On 28 July 1858 he drew up a contract with a local man, Mr Konai, for the supply of road-making materials. In order to prevent Konai denying his signature at a later date, Herschel made him put a hand-print on the document.
Herschel continued to experiment with hand-prints, soon realising that only fingers needed to be used. He collected prints from friends and family, and came to the conclusion that a person's fingerprints do not change over time. He suggested to the governor of Bengal that fingerprints should be used on legal documents, in order to prevent impersonation and the repudiation of contracts, but this suggestion was not acted upon.
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