Cesare Lombroso, known as the founder of criminal anthropology, was born in Italy on November 16, 1835. He pursued studies in the medical field and worked as an army surgeon and a professor of psychiatry before being appointed as the director of a mental institution in 1871 (per Britannica). In the years following, Lombroso also taught forensic medicine and hygiene, as well as criminal anthropology.

During his time as a professor, Lombroso studied the skulls of numerous criminals, and it was during that time that he developed his theory regarding the correlation between the shape of skulls and criminal behavior, as reported by Dark Tourists. In essence, Lombroso concluded that criminals were born and not made, and he formed his theory by collecting countless remains of criminals and comparing their physical features. It was also during that time that Lombroso started collecting the skulls and specimens of his subjects that would eventually be displayed in the Museum of Criminal Anthropology.