Edward Oscar Heinrich (1881–1953) was a forensic criminologist and lecturer at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
. During his 40 year career, Heinrich, often referred to as "America's Sherlock Holmes", invented new forensic techniques, opened the nation's first private crime lab and solved 2000 cases.
Early life
Edward Oscar Heinrich was born on April 20, 1881, in
Clintonville, Wisconsin
Clintonville is a city in Waupaca County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,591 at the 2020 census. The area that became Clintonville was first settled in March, 1855.
History
Clintonville lies within ancestral Menominee territor ...
. to August and Albertine Heinrich, natives of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. He was the youngest of three children. Heirich's father moved the family to Tacoma, Washington in 1890 to find better working opportunities. In 1897, when Heinrich was sixteen years old, his father committed suicide and Heinrich assumed responsibility for supporting his family. He studied to become a pharmacist and worked as a pharmacist assistant. He passed the state pharmacy exams when he was eighteen years old. He later applied to and was accepted to the Chemical Engineering program at the University of California, Berkeley.
Early career
After graduating from Berkeley, Heinrich first worked as a chemical and sanitation engineer for the city of Tacoma. He later was awarded the position of city chemist, which required him to work with the city
coroner
A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...
.
Heinrich and
August Vollmer, Berkeley's police chief, met through mutual friends and their interest in
forensics
Forensic science, also known as criminalistics, is the application of science to criminal and civil laws, mainly—on the criminal side—during criminal investigation, as governed by the legal standards of admissible evidence and crimina ...
. In 1916, Vollmer asked Heinrich to create a college program for police officers at Berkeley. The three year program became the School for Police at Berkeley, and was the first in the country. They would go on to work together for many years.
Career
During his long career, the media referred to Heinrich as "America's Sherlock Holmes". He invented new forensic techniques, and opened the nation's first private crime lab in 1910. He solved 2000 cases in his 40 year career.
The Great Train Heist
On October 11, 1923, the three
DeAutremont brothers
The DeAutremont Brothers, Roy (March 30, 1900 – June 17, 1983), Ray (March 30, 1900 – December 20, 1984) and Hugh DeAutremont (February 21, 1904– March 30, 1959), were a criminal gang based in the Pacific Northwest during the 1920s. Their un ...
attempted, but failed to rob the mail car of a
Southern Pacific
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
train. Instead, they ended up blowing it up completely and murdering four people. The case was solved and the suspects apprehended through the pioneering work of Heinrich.
Colwell murder case
On Dec. 19, 1925, John McCarty was gunned down by a disgruntled employee, Martin Colwell. The case was proved using a new forensic analysis developed by Heinrich utilizing "bullet fingerprints", microscopic evidence that the bullet which killed McCarty could only have been fired from Colwell's .38 revolver.
In 1930, Heinrich was hired to investigate the Moormeister murder. He was unable to solve it, but did accept his payday.
Personal life
Heinrich met his wife, Marion Allen, when they were both college students at the Berkeley. They married after he graduated from the University in 1908. They later had two sons, Theodore and Mortimer.
[Winkler Dawson (2021), 32, 38] Heinrich died on September 28, 1953.
Notes
Sources
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External links
Finding Aid to the Edward Oscar Heinrich Papers, Online Archive of CaliforniaPhotos of Edward Oscar Heinrichare available on-line.
{{Authority control
American criminologists
1881 births
1953 deaths
University of California, Berkeley faculty