An illustration from "Dictionnaire des sciences anthropologiques" (1883) published under the direction of Alphonse Bertillon, Coudereau, A. Hovelacque, Issaurat, and others. Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914) was a French police officer and biometrics researcher who created anthropometry, an identification system based on physical measurements. Anthropometry was the first scientific system used by police to identify criminals. In this system the person was identified by measurement of the head and body, individual markings (tattoos, scars) and personality characteristics.