1905May, 5
The trial in the Stratton Brothers case begins in London, England; it marks the first time that fingerprint evidence is used to gain a conviction for murder.
Alfred Edward Stratton (1882-1905) and his brother Albert Ernest Stratton (1884-1905) were the first men to be convicted in Britain for murder based on fingerprint evidence. They were both executed at 9 am on 23 May 1905 at HM Prison Wandsworth. The case, otherwise known as the Mask Murders (due to the black stocking-top masks that had been left at the scene of the crime), the Deptford Murders (due to the location) or the Farrow Murders (the last name of the victims), was one of the earliest convictions using forensic science.
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Events on 1905
- 27May
Battle of Tsushima
Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins. - 28May
Battle of Tsushima
Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Imperial Japanese Navy. - 26Sep
Special theory of relativity
Albert Einstein publishes his first paper on the special theory of relativity. - 26Oct
Norway
Sweden accepts the independence of Norway. - 30Oct
Nicholas II of Russia
Czar Nicholas II of Russia issues the October Manifesto, granting the Russian peoples basic civil liberties and the right to form a duma. This was October 17 in the Julian calendar.