On this day, William James Herschel, a British officer of the Indian Civil Service posted at Jangipur in Bengal, used the fingerprints of a local businessmen on an official contract. This is said to be the first known use of fingerprint for official purposes.

Herschel asked the businessman, Rajyadhar Konai, for his palm print to stop him from “repudiating his signature”. For locals, personally touching the document and leaving an impression on it could mean more than a signature. But for Herschel, the efficacy of handprints and fingerprints as identity proof would become obvious.

He later would take fingerprints instead of the impression of the entire hand.

Once convinced of their uniqueness, he became a collector of fingerprints, including his own.

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