Alphonse BERTILLON (1853-1914)

CONSTRAINT : to obtain the measurements and then the proportions of the ear (and other anatomical features) so as to establish judicial identity. Subject choice limited to suspects and convicted criminals of all ages.

INVENTION : anthropometric ϕ (1882), also known in France as Bertillonnage.

WORKS : a vast quantity of ϕs of ears, arranged in taxonomic series, along with similar charts of comparative anatomy used for identifying new suspects. Sometimes, ϕs taken of the same person at different ages are used to prove the rule that for an individual ear, proportions remain stable as length varies.