A little murder. I'm Jason Horton. I'm Rebecca Leib. And this is Ghost Town.

Friends' science is, of course, an established field of education, investigation, and research,

but this wasn't always the case. Would you believe a type A socialite with a penchant for miniatures

single-handedly revolutionize the field of forensic science, making it the academic and investigative

powerhouse we know today? Called the godmother of forensic science, Francis Glestner Lee is who I'm

talking about, and who we're talking about today. Wife, mother, socialite, Harvard educator,

hobbyist, police chief, patron of the arts, and the inventor of modern forensics.

Francis Glestner Lee was born in Chicago on March 25, 1878. Her father, John Jacob Glestner,

was an industrialist who became wealthy from his massively successful company,

International Harvester, which manufactured agricultural and construction equipment,

cars, trucks, and more. As a child, Francis fell ill with tonsillitis, and her mother took her

to a doctor, who prescribed a dangerous treatment for her illness. The Glestner's then sought a second

opinion and Francis was advised to have surgery, so she underwent a successful surgery for tonsillitis,

when at the time was a risky procedure at best. This tonsillitis journey was the beginning of Glestner

Lee's lifelong fascination with medicine, mysteries, and the human body. But she was still a little girl,

and a budding socialite at that. Because of her parents' wealth, Glestner Lee and her brother George

were both educated at home by private tutors. While George learned math, history, and languages,

Francis learned the, quote, unquote, domestic arts from tutors and her female relatives,

think interior design, metalwork, sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidery, and painting.

And when George went to Harvard, Francis, who aspired to study law or medicine, begged her parents

to go to. But to the Glestner's, quote, a lady didn't go to school,

and they refused to allow her to attend a university.

...