INVENTOR

Alphonse Bertillon

1853 - 1914

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Icon of person Alphonse Bertillon

Alphonse Bertillon (French: [bɛʁtijɔ̃]; 22 April 1853 – 13 February 1914) was a French police officer and biometrics researcher who applied the anthropological technique of anthropometry to law enforcement creating an identification system based on physical measurements. Anthropometry was the first scientific system used by police to identify criminals. Before that time, criminals could only be identified by name or photograph. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Alphonse Bertillon has received more than 540,176 page views. His biography is available in 25 different languages on Wikipedia. Alphonse Bertillon is the 97th most popular inventor (down from 88th in 2019), the 1,122nd most popular biography from France (down from 983rd in 2019) and the 15th most popular French Inventor.

Alphonse Bertillon is most famous for inventing the bertillonage system of identification, which was an early form of anthropometry. The system was based on physical measurements of body parts.

Memorability Metrics

  • 540k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 61.79

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 25

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 7.08

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 2.10

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among INVENTORS

Among inventors, Alphonse Bertillon ranks 97 out of 426Before him are Henri Coandă, Étienne-Jules Marey, André-Jacques Garnerin, Daniel Swarovski, Elisha Otis, and Franz Reichelt. After him are Johann Maria Farina, Leo Fender, Momofuku Ando, Robert Noyce, Louis Le Prince, and Jacque Fresco.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1853, Alphonse Bertillon ranks 22Before him are Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, Hussein Kamel of Egypt, Princess Thyra of Denmark, Oskar Potiorek, Hans Christian Gram, and Franz I, Prince of Liechtenstein. After him are Prince Leopold, Duke of Albany, Emil Jellinek, Kitasato Shibasaburō, Katharina Schratt, André Michelin, and Louise Abbéma. Among people deceased in 1914, Alphonse Bertillon ranks 22Before him are August Macke, Georges Picquart, Eduard Suess, Ambrose Bierce, Maximilian von Spee, and Alexander Samsonov. After him are Charles Péguy, Alfred Thayer Mahan, Alain-Fournier, Empress Shōken, Joseph Chamberlain, and Louis Couturat.

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In France

Among people born in France, Alphonse Bertillon ranks 1,122 out of 6,770Before him are Alain de Lille (1117), Francis Phoebus of Navarre (1467), Albert Roussel (1869), Margaret II, Countess of Flanders (1202), Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier (1754), and Étienne-Louis Boullée (1728). After him are Jacques Rivette (1928), René Lalique (1860), Jean de Joinville (1224), Pierre-Jean de Béranger (1780), Pierre Augereau (1757), and Étienne Cabet (1788).

Among INVENTORS In France

Among inventors born in France, Alphonse Bertillon ranks 15Before him are Louis Renault (1877), Louis Blériot (1872), Claude Chappe (1763), Jacques de Vaucanson (1709), Étienne-Jules Marey (1830), and André-Jacques Garnerin (1769). After him are Louis Le Prince (1841), Clément Ader (1841), Charles-Émile Reynaud (1844), André Michelin (1853), Henri Giffard (1825), and Jean-Pierre Blanchard (1753).