Allan Pinkerton

Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish-American detective, spy, and abolitionist. He is most famous for founding the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. This agency changed how investigations were conducted in the United States.

Pinkerton also claimed to have stopped a plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. His work helped shape the early systems of American intelligence and law enforcement.

Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on August 21, 1819. His father, William Pinkerton, was a retired policeman. After his father died, Allan left school at age ten. He became largely self-educated through constant reading. As a young man, he worked as a cooper, which is a person who makes wooden barrels. He also joined the Chartist movement in Scotland. Eventually, he and his wife moved to America to escape trouble related to his political activities.

After arriving in the United States, Pinkerton settled in Illinois. He built a cabin and started a cooperage in Dundee Township. He was also an abolitionist, meaning he worked to end slavery. His home served as a stop on the Underground Railroad. Pinkerton became interested in detective work after spotting a group of counterfeiters in the woods. He watched them and then informed the local sheriff. This led to his appointment as the first police detective in Cook County, Illinois, in 1849.

In 1850, Pinkerton formed the North-Western Police Agency with attorney Edward Rucker. This organization eventually became the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. The agency used a logo of a wide-open eye with the phrase "We never sleep." Pinkerton introduced many new ideas to the field. He hired Kate Warne, who became the first female detective. His agency gained fame by solving a grave-robbing case involving medical students. They also solved many train robberies during the 1850s.

During the American Civil War, Pinkerton led the Union Intelligence Service. He protected Abraham Lincoln during his journey to Washington, D.C. Pinkerton also worked undercover as a Confederate soldier. He used the alias Major E.J. Allen to gather information in the Deep South. His work was a predecessor to modern counterintelligence. However, his intelligence work was controversial. He provided troop estimates to General George B. McClellan. Some historians argue these numbers were much too high. They believe these errors made McClellan too cautious to attack the enemy.

After the Civil War, Pinkerton continued his work as a private investigator. He hunted for the Reno Gang and attempted to track the outlaw Jesse James. One of his biggest defeats was failing to capture Jesse James. In 1872, he was hired by the Spanish government to help in Cuba. This work was meant to suppress a revolution. This period of his life is noted because it seemed to conflict with his earlier work as an abolitionist.

Pinkerton died in Chicago on July 1, 1884. There are different reports about his cause of death. Some say he had a stroke or malaria. Others suggest he died from gangrene after a fall. At the time of his death, he was working on a way to centralize criminal records. This idea was similar to the databases used by the FBI today. He is buried in Graceland Cemetery next to his wife and Kate Warne.