Bertillon

American  

[bur-tl-on, ber-tee-yawn] / ˈbɜr tlˌɒn, bɛr tiˈyɔ̃ /

noun

1. Alphonse 1853–1914, French criminologist and anthropologist: devised the Bertillon system.

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Example Sentences

In many larger cities during the 1890s and early 1900s, the booking and photographing of an arrested person was also accompanied by the taking of Bertillon measurements.

From Slate • Feb. 17, 2020

For all its brash Americanness, “Crime Stories”—and the genre of crime photography itself—is indelibly shaped by the work of the nineteenth-century French police officer Alphonse Bertillon.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 9, 2016

Bertillon instituted a method focused on measurements of certain body parts, precise descriptions and mug shots.

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2016

Later in the century, the French criminologist Alphonse Bertillon laid the groundwork for today’s police identification system.

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2016

Louis Lépine and Alphonse Bertillon, supposedly the finest detectives in Europe, were far behind the times.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day