Henry Faulds was a Scottish doctor, missionary and scientist who has become widely known as the "Father of Fingerprinting." In 1880, he was the first to suggest using fingerprints for criminal investigations using a classification system that he developed. But during his lifetime, he never received the credit for his discovery. Here is his story...

Henry Faulds was born on June 1, 1843 in Beith, Scotland. His parents were initially wealthy but lost much of their fortunes following the City of Glasgow bank collapse in 1855.

Unable to continue his education, Henry had to drop out of school as a 13 year old to take up a job and to help support his family. He found employment as a clerk. Later on he became apprenticed to a shawl manufacturer. After working for a few years he decided to further his education. He was a bright young man and at the age of 21 he started attending classes in mathematics, logic, and classics at Glasgow University.

However, it was not long before he reali