This page at onin.com has an excellent run-down of the history of the recognition (and use) of fingerprints as unique to each individual.
Remarkably, the assumption that fingerprints are, in fact, unique dates back to the dawn of history.
The linked page also has an account of the wild circumstances surrounding a famous mis-identification in 1903 that is credited with precipitating the demise of the Bertillon system as the primary identification system used for purposes of law enforcement.
The Bertillon System was generally accepted for thirty years. But it never recovered from the events of 1903, when a man named Will West was sentenced to the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas. It was discovered that there was already a prisoner at the penitentiary at the time, whose Bertillon measurements were nearly the same, and his name was William West.Criminal twin brothers with the same name killed the Bertillon system.
Upon investigation, there were indeed two men who looked exactly alike. Their names were Will and William West respectively. Their Bertillon measurements were close enough to identify them as the same person. However, a fingerprint comparison quickly and correctly identified them as two different people. (Per prison records discovered later, the West men were apparently identical twin brothers and each had a record of correspondence with the same immediate family relatives.)
UPDATE:
Thanks to our Chief Technology Officer, Steven, we have found photos of the infamous West brothers on the web site of The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
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Here's a close-up of the picture above that fills in some detail:
