Residence Canada Died November 24, 1931 Role Scientist | Name Wilfrid Derome Nationality Canadian Fields Forensic science | |
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Institutions Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Medecine Legale Known for Founder of first Forensic science laboratory in North America Notable awards French Hall of Fame of Criminalistic Education Laval University, University of Paris | ||
Wilfrid Derome (19 April 1877 – 24 November 1931) was a Quebec forensic scientist known as the founder of the first Forensic science laboratory in North America, founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The laboratory is now called the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale.
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Biography
Dr. Derome was born in Napierville, Canada and studied at the College of Montreal, Sainte-Marie College, and Joliette Seminary, where he received the Bachelor of Arts in 1898. Later, he received a doctorate of medicine from Université Laval in Montreal in 1902, interning at Notre Dame Hospital.
During 1908-1909, Dr. Derome studied Legal Medicine at the University of Paris.
During his career, he acted as associate editor the American Journal of Police Science, contributing two articles during 1930. He was a member of the International Association for Identification and the Société de médecine légale de France.
Work
In 1910, Dr. Derome was appointed Professor of Legal Medicine and Toxicology at the University of Montreal and became head of the Laboratory of Notre Dame Hospital.
He founded, in June 1914, the first governmental Forensic science laboratory in North America in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He acted as the Director of the lab since his death in 1931 at the age of 54. He testified as Medical Expert and Ballistic Expert to the Crown in many legal cases during his career.
In 1922, he became the first Expert in North America to testify in front of the Court on the determination of ethyl alcohol in the blood. In 1926, Dr. Derome invented the microspherometer which can reveal the marks left on the surface of bullets fired from a firearm for the purpose of identification. This discovery allowed to present scientific evidence in Court for the first time in ballistics.
In 1929, the Derome laboratory was visited by J. Edgar Hoover, from the FBI, in order to plan the foundation of the FBI laboratory.