Advances in Fingerprint Technology.pdf

Figure 1.15 Juan Steegers. (Supplied by the Cuban Ministry of Communications.
With permission.)
Cuba
Juan Francisco Steegers y Perera (1856–1921) was the foremost Cuban pioneer
in fingerprint identification; his name has been perpetuated by the issue
of two postage stamps on April 30,1957 (Figure 1.15). Details of his life were
presented in a philatelic commemorative booklet issued by the Cuban Ministry
of Communications on March 1, 1957, and the details of the pioneering
aspect of his fingerprint achievements are presented in this translation:
In 1904 he was elected photographer of the National Presidium, entailing
immense work dealing with all media within his reach in order to raise the
quality of the department; he introduced the system of utilising fingerprints
for the identification of delinquents, thus achieving the honour of having
introduced in Cuba the first dactyloscopic information, addressed to the
judge of Law Instruction of the Centre. This happened on 28th November
1907. By means of intense and constant studies Steegers created a new
dactyloscopic-photographic medium, thus joining together dactyloscopy
and photography and obtaining a complete result with his new discovery;
the greatest achievement is that this same result and method are being used
in several countries, having been given the name “Sistema Steegers.” Thanks