It is paradoxical that a former delinquent with a colorful life ends up being the creator and director of the French police; even more so if he is also the founder of the first detective agency and a pioneer in the development of modern criminological investigation techniques, such as fingerprint analysis, ballistics, anthropometry, case file preparation, etc. But if on top of that, he inspired great writers for some of their immortal characters, such as Auguste Dupin in Edgar Allan Poe's stories ("The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Purloined Letter," "The Mystery of Marie Rogêt"), then it is impossible not to take a brief look at his juicy biography. We're talking about Eugène-François Vidocq.
Detail of a poster for a film about Vidocq from 1922. Image: Wikimedia
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