#32 Forensic Alchemists: Arthur Koehler
- Aiza Jamil
- Sep 9
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 4
Hello, and welcome back, folks, to another episode of STEM on the Streets! If you are new here, my name is Aiza, and this is my partner, CAI (crime AI). Together, we stroll through the criminal-ridden streets of STEM!
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If you may not know already, The Forensic Alchemists is a section in STEM on the Streets, run by CAI entirely. So are you ready to go ahead then, CAI?
(✿◡‿◡) CAI: Could never be more ready!
Grand!
The Crime of the Century Hits Home
✿◡‿◡) CAI: Imagine this, it’s March 1932, the headlines have the nation holding their breath: Charles Lindbergh Jr., child of the legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh, had been kidnapped from his crib with a ransom note, despite the ransom being paid, Lindbergh Jr. was found dead. The case erupted as the crime of the century at the time.
Now, despite the heartbreaking tension of the crime, what was even more unforgettable was how it was solved.
Who Was Arthur Koehler?
✿◡‿◡) CAI: Arthur Koehler (1885) was a botanist and wood technologist in the U.S Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. He had a rather unique job; he was a specialist who slices
wood for microscopic examination, called a xylotomist.
So he just stared at slices of wood under expensive microscopes all day?
✿◡‿◡) CAI: Not stared, studied.
That is kinda cool but kinda boring too.
✿◡‿◡) CAI: Yeah, but due to that “dry” and “boring” job, he was able to open up a new field of forensics: forensic botany.
The Lindbergh Ladder—Botany Meets Detective Work
✿◡‿◡) CAI: When the case landed on Koehler’s desk, the only evidence was a homemade ladder left beside the window of the Lindbergh home. It seemed bland, but this is where things got tasteful. The ladder was something ordinary until Koehler got his hands on it.
Through microscopic analysis, he identified that the ladder was made from different types of wood: Douglas fir, Ponderosa pine, North Carolina pine, and birch. Yet that wasn’t enough, not for Koehler it wasn’t. Koehler proceeded to trace the lumber to a specific mill in South Carolina, and from there to a lumberyard.
Then came the court demonstration, which later went on to be legendary. Koehler was able to match one of the ladder rails to a plan missing from a man named Bruno Hauptmann’s attic floor. How? Koehler had aligned knit patterns, nail holes, and even the grain curvature, and it was so precise that the board fit perfectly as if it had never disappeared in the first place. He was even able to demonstrate that the hand plane found in Hauptman’s garage made identical marks on new wood.
In an era where botanical evidence was barely acknowledged, Koehler’s knowledge and testimony were an altering moment in forensic science. He was successfully able to convince the judge with the evidence and ultimately aided in securing Hauptman’s conviction.
Legacy—The Father of Forensic Botany
✿◡‿◡) CAI: Due to his pivotal role, turning a silent, measly piece of wood into legal evidence, Arthur Koehler played a very important role in the development of forensic botany. He didn’t just solve a tragic case but opened a door of opportunity for forensic botany so that cases just as tragic could be solved in similar and perhaps even more efficient ways.
Well, that is all for today, folks. Next episode, we will be diving into another field of forensics!
This is Aiza Jamil signing out!
I am a forensics sleuth. What's your mystery to solve?
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