- 01: Introduction
- 02: History
- 03: Propellants, Firearms, and Ammunition Development
- 04: Modern Firearms Manufacture
- 05: Small Arms Ammunition
- 06: Evidence Handling Procedures
- 07: Equipment and Instrumentation
- 08: Examination of Firearms
- 09: Cartridge and Shotshell Examination
- 10: Characterization and Evaluation of Fired Projectiles
- 11: Bullet Comparison and Identification
- 12: Gunshot Residue and Distance Determination
- 13: Toolmark Identification
- 14: Communicating Results
- Resources
1955-1958
Home > History > 1955-1958
1955
Calvin Goddard
Calvin H. Goddard presented an address, "The Unexpected in Firearms Identification," at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences meeting in Los Angeles, California. Two days after his presentation, Goddard passed away. Due to the significant contributions Goddard made to the field of firearm and toolmark identification, he is considered by many firearm examiners (especially in the U.S.) to be the "father" of the science.
1957
Hatcher text - Jury & Weller
A complete revision of Major General Julian S. Hatcher’s textbook Firearms Identification Investigation and Evidence was published. The revision of the book was directed by Frank J. Jury, New Jersey State Police Crime Laboratory and Jac Weller, a firearms consultant from Princeton, New Jersey. While updating much of the original material, the revision also contained a substantial amount of new material.
1958
John E. Davis, an eminent criminalist and Director of the Oakland Police Department (California) Criminalistics Section (crime laboratory) wrote a book entitled An Introduction to Tool Marks, Firearms and the Striagraph. Davis provided extensive information about the examination and identification of firearms and toolmark evidence. He also discussed his development of a specialized instrument that he named the striagraph. He described the instrument as “…a measuring, tracing and recording device suited to the analysis of micro surface-contours, that is, to the detection of microscopic irregularities in surface smoothness.” Although the instrument never proved to be successful past the research stage, it was the forerunner of later technology using advanced laser and digital imaging techniques for scanning the surface of a bullet.
