The unknown about fingerprints

The notorious "Jack the Ripper" could have been sacked if the British police were interested in recommending the use of fingerprints to solve a doctor's case.

>>> new technique to detect fingerprints on wet paper

However, the authorities have ignored the proposal, partly because the method is too new. It was not until 50 years later that the police officially used fingerprints as a tool to investigate crimes.

The three-page letter, written in 1840, details how the fingerprint could be used to trace the crime, and details of it were revealed before being auctioned at Sotheby's house this week.

The letter was auctioned at Sotheby's house - (Photo: Sotheby's).

The letter referred to the murder of May 6, 1840, after a 73-year-old politician, Lord William Russell, was found dead in bed, neck was cut, at home in London.

Ten days later, surgeon Robert Blake Overton, who lives in Grimstone Village in Norfolk, wrote to the grandson of Lord John Russell, the future Prime Minister of England. He forwarded the letter to the London Police Department.

In the letter, the doctor mentioned the 'bloody fingerprints' at the scene, adding that at that time many people did not know that each individual had different fingerprints. And he suggested using this fingerprint to hunt down criminals, according to Independent.

However, it was not until the late 1850s that a British police officer, William Hershel, used fingerprints to print his contract in India. And in 1890, this new method was officially used to investigate the case.