November 24

This Day in History

Also on This Day

Lead Story
Origin of Species is published, 1859
American Revolution
Mohawk Chief Joseph Brant dies, 1807
Automotive
John Froelich, inventor of the gas-powered tractor, is born, 1849
Civil War
Union troops prevail at the Battle of Lookout Mountain, 1863
Cold War
"Hollywood 10" cited for contempt of Congress, 1947
Crime
The FBI Crime Lab opens its doors for business, 1932
Disaster
Ferry sinks in Yellow Sea, killing hundreds, 1999
General Interest
Irish author and nationalist executed, 1922
Jack Ruby kills Lee Harvey Oswald, 1963
Hijacker parachutes into thunderstorm, 1971
Hollywood
Robin Williams stars in Mrs. Doubtfire, 1993
Literary
Origin of Species is published, 1859
Music
Ringo Starr earns a solo #1 hit with "Photograph", 1973
Old West
John Neihardt, ghostwriter of Black Elk Speaks, dies, 1973
Presidential
Zachary Taylor is born, 1784
Sports
Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA rebounds record, 1960
Vietnam War
LBJ to continue Kennedy policy in Vietnam, 1963
U.S. casualty rates hit new high, 1965
U.S. Army announces Calley will be tried, 1969
World War I
Yugoslav National Council expresses concerns about post-war boundaries , 1918
World War II
U.S. B-29s raid Tokyo, 1944

Crime

Nov 24, 1932:

The FBI Crime Lab opens its doors for business

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The crime lab that is now referred to as the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory officially opens in Washington, D.C., on this day in 1932. The lab, which was chosen because it had the necessary sink, operated out of a single room and had only one full-time employee, Agent Charles Appel. Agent Appel began with a borrowed microscope and a pseudo-scientific device called a helixometer. The helixometer purportedly assisted investigators with gun barrel examinations, but it was actually more for show than function. In fact, J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the FBI, provided the lab with very few resources and used the "cutting-edge lab" primarily as a public relations tool. But by 1938, the FBI lab added polygraph machines and started conducting controversial lie detection tests as part of its investigations. In its early days, the FBI Crime Lab worked on about 200 pieces of evidence a year. By the 1990s, that number multiplied to approximately 200,000. Currently, the FBI Crime Lab obtains 600 new pieces of criminal evidence everyday.

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This Week in History, Nov 24 - Nov 30

Nov 24, 1932
The FBI Crime Lab opens its doors for business
Nov 25, 1999
International day to eliminate violence against women
Nov 26, 1933
Vigilantes in California lynch two suspected murderers
Nov 27, 1978
San Francisco leaders George Moscone and Harvey Milk are murdered
Nov 28, 1987
A media controversy ignites over the case of Tawana Brawley
Nov 29, 2011
Dr. Conrad Murray receives four-year sentence in Michael Jackson's death
Nov 30, 1989
"America's First Female Serial Killer" strikes

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