Thomas Burn

On the History Channel website, I found a video that talked about Thomas Burns' Rouges Gallery. This was the first time anyone had used photography to identify criminals using mugshots. In the 1890's Burns began to take photographs of lawbreakers and he dispersed the collection throughout the country to catch them if they came on the radar again. Before mugshots, criminals would be able to leave a place once they became known as a lawbreaker and no one would recognize them. Even today we still use mugshots to catch criminals.

The video used reenactments to show the past, and pictures being taken. The narrator was talking throughout. It also showed some of the original photos as well as mugshots being taken today.

Megan Fotheringham