Who is credited with initially suggesting the association of fingerprint identification with finger impressions found at crime scenes?

Henry Faulds is credited with the initial suggestion of using fingerprint identification in relation to finger impressions found at crime scenes. In the late 19th century, Faulds, a Scottish physician, recognized that fingerprints could be unique to individuals and could serve as a reliable means of identifying people in criminal investigations. He conducted experiments that demonstrated how fingerprints could remain unchanged over a person's lifetime and could be used to match prints left at the scene of a crime with those of suspects.

Through his research and advocacy, Faulds contributed significantly to the early development of fingerprint analysis as a forensic tool. His work laid the foundation for the systematic study of fingerprints, which eventually led to more advanced methodologies and standardization in forensic science.

While other figures mentioned in the options, such as Alphonse Bertillon with his anthropometric system of identifying individuals and Sir Francis Galton with his extensive study of fingerprints, also played crucial roles in the development of forensic identification techniques, it was Faulds who first connected the dots between the presence of finger impressions at crime scenes and the potential for using them as definitive identifiers in legal contexts.