Albert Sherman Osborn is considered the father of the science of
questioned document examination in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
.
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His seminal book ''Questioned Documents'' was first published in 1910 and later heavily revised as a second edition in 1929. Other publications, including ''The Problem of Proof'' (1922), ''The Mind of the Juror'' (1937), and ''Questioned Document Problems'' (1944) were widely acclaimed by both the legal profession and by public and private laboratories concerned with matters involving questioned documents.
Osborn is also known for founding the
American Society of Questioned Document Examiners
The American Society of Questioned Document Examiners is the world's oldest society dedicated to the forensic science of questioned document examination with 144 members worldwide. The current president is Samiah Ibrahim. The society publishes t ...
(ASQDE) on September 2, 1942. In 1913 Osborn began inviting select practitioners to informal educational gatherings hosted in his home and those meetings eventually led to formation of the ASQDE. He became the society's first president and was involved intimately with the discipline and Society until his death four years later.
Osborn was involved in a number of high-profile cases during his time, including the murder of
Mary Phagan
Leo Max Frank (April 17, 1884August 17, 1915) was an American factory superintendent who was convicted in 1913 of the murder of a 13-year-old employee, Mary Phagan, in Atlanta, Georgia. His trial, conviction, and appeals attracted national at ...
and the
Lindbergh kidnapping
On March 1, 1932, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. (born June 22, 1930), the 20-month-old son of aviators Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was abducted from his crib in the upper floor of the Lindberghs' home, Highfields (Amwell and Ho ...
, the latter of which was featured in the film ''
J. Edgar
''J. Edgar'' is a 2011 American biographical drama film based on the career of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, directed, produced and scored by Clint Eastwood. Written by Dustin Lance Black, the film focuses on Hoover's life from the 1919 Palme ...
'' (2011), where Osborn is played by actor
Denis O'Hare
Denis Patrick Seamus O'Hare (born January 17, 1962) is an American actor, singer, and author noted for his award-winning performances in the plays '' Take Me Out'' and ''Sweet Charity'', as well as portraying vampire king Russell Edgington on HB ...
br>
Culper Spy Ring
In the late 1920s,
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
historian,
Morton Pennypacker
Frank Knox Morton Pennypacker (1872–1956) was a collector of Long Island, New York historical material and author of several books on Long Island history, including ''George Washington's Spies'', the story of the Culper Ring.
Born in Pennsylvani ...
, discovered similarities in the handwriting between
Oyster Bay resident,
Robert Townsend, and one of
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
's spies referred to by the codename,
Samuel Culper Junior. Pennypacker reached out to Osborn to confirm the letters were written by the same individual and, based on the handwriting samples Osborn was provided, Osborn confirmed that they wer
Bibliography
External links
Albert S. Osbornat OpenLibrary.organisation
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, Albert S.
Questioned document examination
American forensic scientists
1858 births
1946 deaths