Portrait of Edmond Locard

Edmond Locard

French forensic scientist

Lived
1877–1966
Country
France

Updated September 2026

About Edmond Locard

Edmond Locard was a French criminologist, the pioneer in forensic science who became known as the "Sherlock Holmes of France". He formulated the basic principle of forensic science: "Every contact leaves a trace". This became known as Locard's exchange principle.

Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.