They Went to Calvert First

Calvin Hooker Goddard '03

Forensic Scientist
Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Calvin Hooker Goddard was a member of Calvert School’s first graduating class in 1903. Known for his work investigating the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, as well as other high-profile cases, Goddard was a forensic scientist and an expert in forensic ballistics.

After earning a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University, Goddard returned to work toward a medical degree, which he earned in 1915. Shortly after, he joined the United States Army, rising to the rank of Colonel before turning his attention to one of his early passions: firearm identification. By 1925, Goddard had helped establish the Bureau of Forensic Ballistics, which provided firearms identification services and was the nation’s first independent criminalistics laboratory. He became well-known for his contributions to the field of forensic ballistics and assisted authorities in investigating high-profile cases, including Chicago's St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929. Thanks to his keen eye, careful study, and thorough investigation, police were able to identify and locate firearms used in the incident.

Throughout his career, Goddard also served as a professor of police science at Northwestern University, editor of the American Journal of Police Science, and the military editor of Encyclopaedia Britannica.
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Calvert School is a coed independent lower and middle school.

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