Sir William James Herschel Birth Anniversary

Sir William James Herschel, born on 9 January 1833, was a British ICS officer in India who used fingerprints for identification on contracts.

The English first began using fingerprints in July of 1858, when Sir William Herschel had Rajyadhar Konai, a local businessman, impress his hand print on the back of a contract. The native was suitably impressed, and Herschel made a habit of requiring palm print on every contract made with the locals.