Experts Bridging Borders: Unveiling Transatlantic Ties in Criminal Sciences between Hans Gross and John Henry Wigmore

• In Event: Habsburg Experts between Austria-Hungary and the United States

Abstract

This paper sheds light on Austrian-American ties in the development of criminal sciences as a holistic, interdisciplinary field in the early 20th century by drawing on the professional relationship between Hans Gross, the Austrian “father of criminology”, and John Henry Wigmore, the American "chair of evidence." Based on archival research which was conducted in the summer of 2023 at the McCormick Library of Special Collections & University Archives (“John Henry Wigmore Papers”) at Northwestern University Chicago, the paper examines the US connections fo Gross, and proposes that he not only shaped the development of criminal science in his home country, but also significantly influenced transatlantic developments.

Author

• Nina Kaiser, U of Graz (Austria)