Scottish-
American detective (1819-1884). Born in
The Gorbals, a very
poor area in
Glasgow,
Scotland. Moved with his wife to
Canada, then
Illinois, where he worked as a
cooper. After noticing a
suspicious fire-pit on a remote island in 1846, Pinkerton and the local
sheriff closed down a
counterfeiting operation that was using the island as a
hideout. After several other successful jobs in
law enforcement, he became the first
detective on the
Chicago police force. In 1850, he founded the
Pinkerton and Co. Detective Agency--considered by many to be the first real
private detective agency--which became
famous for its
relentless pursuit of
wrong-doers. One of his
favorite tactics was
undercover infiltration of
criminal organizations. He introduced other
techniques that have become very
common in
detection, including the use of
mug books.
Pinkerton fervently believed that
slavery should be
abolished. He worked with the
underground railroad and gave aid and shelter to
Frederick Douglas and
John Brown. He foiled an
assassination attempt against
Abraham Lincoln on the President's first trip to
Washington after his
election. He worked for a time as the
spymaster for the
Union during the
American Civil War, but resigned before the end of the
conflict (and later expressed
regret, believing that he could have prevented Lincoln's assassination at
Ford's Theater).
After recovering from a
stroke, Pinkerton led the
pursuit against the
James Gang and helped destroy the
Molly Maguires -- a
controversial case, since many believe Pinkerton's activities were nothing more than
union-busting.
Research from GURPS Who's Who 2, compiled by Phil Masters, "Allan Pinkerton" by James H. Hay, pp. 84-85.