Johann Ludwig Casper

Born on March 11, 1796, in Berlin, Johann Ludwig Casper became a major figure in German forensic medicine. He trained as a physician and went on to work across several medical fields, including pathology, pediatrics, pharmacology, and legal medicine.

Casper is best remembered for bringing careful observation and medical method to criminal investigation and questions of cause of death. He taught in Berlin and wrote influential works that helped establish forensic medicine as a distinct scientific discipline in the 19th century.

He died on February 24, 1864. Today, he is often recognized as one of the important early specialists who connected medicine with the practical needs of the courts.