ABSTRACT
The science of physiognomy aimed at reading character and other psychological traits from outer physical signs, especially those of the face. Although it had ancient roots, physiognomy was not codified and systematized until the late eighteenth century, when the Swiss poet and cleric Johann Kaspar Lavater published his Essays on Physiognomy. Lavater (1741-1801) did not focus specifically on criminality, but his analysis of facial features associated aspects of appearance with crime and other forms of negative behavior. He was thus one of the first scholars to attempt to apply science to the understanding of deviant behavior.
