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Allan Pinkerton (25 August 1819 – 1 July 1884) was a Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 detective
Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators . Informally, and primarily in fiction, a detective is any licensed or unlicensed person who solves crimes, including historical crimes, or looks into records....
 and spy
Espionage

Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secrecy or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information....
, best known for creating the Pinkerton Agency, the first detective agency of the United States.

Early life, Career and Immigration
Pinkerton was born in Glasgow
Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and List of largest United Kingdom settlements by population in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's Scottish Lowlands....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, to William Pinkerton and his wife Isabell, in 1819.






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Pinkerton Allan Late Harpers
Allan Pinkerton (25 August 1819 – 1 July 1884) was a Scottish
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
 detective
Detective

A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators . Informally, and primarily in fiction, a detective is any licensed or unlicensed person who solves crimes, including historical crimes, or looks into records....
 and spy
Espionage

Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secrecy or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information....
, best known for creating the Pinkerton Agency, the first detective agency of the United States.

Early life, Career and Immigration


Pinkerton was born in Glasgow
Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and List of largest United Kingdom settlements by population in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's Scottish Lowlands....
, Scotland
Scotland

conventional_long_name = ScotlandAlba|common_name= Scotland|image_flag = Flag of Scotland.svg|flag_width = 130px...
, to William Pinkerton and his wife Isabell, in 1819. The location of the house where he was born is now occupied by the Glasgow Central Mosque
Glasgow Central Mosque

ImamsThere are currently three Imams:*Maulana Abdul-Ghafoor.*Maulana Habib-ur-Rahman.*Maulana Omair Malik....
. A cooper
Cooper (profession)

Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staff vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads....
 by trade, he was active in the British Chartist
Chartism

Chartism was a movement for political and society reform movement in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century between 1838 and 1848. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838, which stipulated the six main aims of the movement as:...
 movement as a young man. Pinkerton married Joan Carfrae (a singer) secretly before moving to America. Disillusioned by the failure to win universal suffrage
Universal suffrage

Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the Suffrage to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and noncitizens....
, Pinkerton emigrated to the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 in 1842, at the age of 23.

In 1849 Pinkerton was appointed as the first detective in Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
. In the 1850s, he partnered with Chicago attorney Edward Rucker in forming the North-Western Police Agency, later known as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency

The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, was a private United States security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850....
 which is still running (but has been renamed) as a subsidiary of Securitas AB
Securitas AB

Securitas AB is a Sweden-based security solutions corporation. As one of the largest provider of security services in the world, the company has 230,000 employees in over 30 countries worldwide, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, and Argentina....
. Pinkerton's business insignia was a wide open eye with the caption "We never sleep." As the United States expanded in territory
Territorial acquisitions of the United States

This is a simplified list of United States territorial acquisitions, beginning with American Revolutionary War. Note that this list primarily concerns land acquired from other nation-states; the numerous territorial acquisitions from Native Americans in the United States are not listed here....
, rail transportation increased. Pinkerton's agency solved a series of train robberies
Train robbery

Train robbery is a type of robbery, in which the goal is to steal money or other valuables being carried aboard trains....
 during the 1850s, bringing Pinkerton first into contact with George McClellan
George B. McClellan

George Brinton McClellan was a Major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army....
 and Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
.

American Civil War


Prior to his service with the Union Army
Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
, he developed several investigative techniques that are still used today. Among them are "shadowing" (surveillance
Surveillance

Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior. Systems surveillance is the process of monitoring the behavior of people, objects or processes within systems for conformity to expected or desired Norm in trusted systems for security or social control....
 of a suspect) and "assuming a role" (undercover
Undercover

Being undercover is deception one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence....
 work). Following the outbreak of the Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
, Pinkerton served as head of the Union Intelligence Service in 1861–62 and foiled an alleged assassination plot
Baltimore Plot

The Baltimore Plot was an alleged conspiracy in late February 1861 to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln en route to his inauguration....
 in Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore is an independent city and the largest city in the U.S. state of Maryland in the United States. Baltimore is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay....
, while guarding Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
 on his way to his inauguration. His agents often worked undercover as Confederate
Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America formed as the government set up from 1861 to 1865 by eleven Southern United States U.S. state of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S....
 soldiers and sympathizers, in an effort to gather military intelligence. Pinkerton served several undercover missions under the alias of Major E.J. Allen. Pinkerton was succeeded as Intelligence Service chief by Lafayette Baker. The Intelligence Service was the forerunner of the U.S. Secret Service
United States Secret Service

The United States Secret Service is a United States Federal government of the United States law enforcement agency that falls under the United States Department of Homeland Security....
.

Postbellum


Following Pinkerton's service with the Union Army
Union Army

The Union Army was the army that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S....
, he continued his pursuit of train robbers, such as the Reno Gang
Reno Gang

The Reno Brothers Gang, also known as the Renos or the Reno Gang, was a group of criminals that operated in the Midwestern United States during and just after the American Civil War....
 and also sought to oppose labor unions
Labor unions in the United States

Labor unions in the United States are legally recognized as representatives of workers in many industries. The most prominent unions are among public sector employees such as teachers and police....
. In 1872, the Spanish Government
Mid-nineteenth century Spain

Spain in the nineteenth century was a country in turmoil. Occupied by Napoleon Bonaparte from 1808 to 1814, a massively destructive "Peninsular war" ensued, driven by an emergent Spanish nationalism....
 hired Pinkerton to help suppress a revolution
Ten Years' War

The Ten Years' War , , also known as the Great War, began on October 10, 1868 when sugar mill owner Carlos Manuel de C?spedes and his followers proclaimed Cuba's independence from Spain....
 in Cuba
Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is a country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba , the island of Isla de la Juventud, and several adjacent small islands....
 which intended to end slavery and give citizens the right to vote.

In late June 1884 he slipped on a pavement in Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
, biting his tongue as he did so. He didn't seek treatment and the tongue became infected, leading to his death on 1 July 1884. At the time of his death, he was working on a system that would centralize all criminal identification records, a database now maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the primary unit in the United States United States Department of Justice, serving as both a Law enforcement agency body and a domestic intelligence agency....
. Pinkerton is buried in Graceland Cemetery
Graceland Cemetery

Graceland Cemetery is a large Victorian-era cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, Chicago, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA....
, Chicago. He is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame
Military Intelligence Hall of Fame

The Military Intelligence Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame established by the Military Intelligence Corps of the United States Army to honor soldiers and civilians who have made exceptional contributions to Military Intelligence....
.

Legacy


After his death, the agency continued to operate and soon became a major force against the young labor movement developing in the United States and Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
. This effort tarnished the image of the Pinkertons for years. They were involved in numerous activities against labor during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including:

  • The Homestead Strike
    Homestead Strike

    The Homestead Strike was a labour lockout and strike which began on June 30, 1892, culminating in a battle between strikers and private security agents on July 6, 1892....
     (1891)
  • The Pullman Strike
    Pullman Strike

    The Pullman Strike occurred when 3,000 Pullman Company workers reacted to a 25% wage cut by going on a strike action in Illinois on May 11, 1894, bringing traffic west of Chicago to a halt....
     (1894)
  • The Wild Bunch
    Wild Bunch

    The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, was one of the names of a group of outlaws based in the Indian Territory, that terrorized Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Territory during the 1890s—robbing banks and stores, holding up trains, and killing lawmen....
     Gang (1896)
  • The Ludlow Massacre
    Ludlow massacre

    The Ludlow massacre refers to the violent deaths of 20 people, 11 of them children, during an attack by the Colorado National Guard on a tent colony of 1,200 striking coal miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado, Colorado in the United States on April 20, 1914....
     (1914)
  • The La Follette Committee (1933-1937)


Many labor sympathizers accused the Pinkertons of inciting riots
Agent provocateur

Traditionally, an agent provocateur is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act....
 in order to discredit unions and justify police crackdowns. The Pinkertons' reputation was harmed by their protection of replacement workers ("scabs") and the business property of the major industrialists, including Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was a Scotland-born United States industrialist, List of business people, and a major philanthropist. He was an immigrant as a child with his parents....
.

Pinkerton was so famous that for decades after his death, his surname was a slang
Slang

Slang is the use of highly informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's dialect or language....
 term for a private eye
Private investigator

A private investigator or private detective is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigations. Private investigators often work for lawyers in civil cases....
. Due to the Pinkerton Agency's conflicts with labor unions, the word Pinkerton remains in the vocabulary of labor organizers and union members as a derogatory reference to authority figures who side with management.

Pinkerton's exploits were in part the inspiration of the 1961 NBC western
Western (genre)

The Western is a fiction genre seen in film, television, radio, literature, painting and other visual arts. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the later half of the 19th century in what became the Western United States , but also in Western Canada, Mexico , Alaska and even Australia ....
 television series, Whispering Smith
Whispering Smith (TV series)

Whispering Smith is a 26-episode National Broadcasting Company Western television series starring World War II hero Audie Murphy as Tom "Whispering" Smith, a police detective in Denver, Colorado, Colorado....
, starring Audie Murphy
Audie Murphy

Audie Leon Murphy was a much-decorated American soldier who served in the European Theater during World War II. He later became an actor, appearing in 44 American films, and also found some success as a country music composer....
 and Guy Mitchell
Guy Mitchell

Guy Mitchell was a List of Croatian Americans popular music singer, was successful in his homeland as well in the United Kingdom and Australia....
.

Writings


Pinkerton produced numerous popular detective books
Detective fiction

Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction in which a detective , either professional or amateur, investigate a crime, usually murder. Detective fiction is the most popular form of both mystery fiction and hardboiled crime fiction....
, ostensibly based on his own exploits and those of his agents. Some were published after his death, and they are considered to have been more motivated by a desire to promote his detective agency than a literary endeavour. Most historians believe that Allan Pinkerton hired ghostwriter
Ghostwriter

A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other content which are officially credited to another person....
s, but the books nonetheless bear his name and no doubt reflect his own views.

  • (1866) Allan Pinkerton's Unpublished Story of the First Attempt on the Life of Abraham Lincoln
  • (1868) History and Evidence of the Passage of Abraham Lincoln from Harrisburg, Pa., to Washington, D.C., on the Twenty-second and Twenty-third of February, 1861
  • (1874) The Expressman and the Detective (available online )
  • (1875) Claude Melnotte as a Detective, and Other Stories
  • (1875) The Detective and the Somnambulist; The Murderer and the Fortune Teller (available online )
  • (1875) Claude Melnotte as a Detective (available online )
  • (1877) The Mollie Maguires and the Detectives
  • (1878) Strikers, Communists, Tramps and Detectives
  • (1879) Mississippi Outlaws and the Detectives; Don Pedro and the Detectives; Poisoner and the Detectives
  • (1879) Criminal Reminiscences and Detective Sketches
  • (1880) Bucholz and the Detectives
  • (1884) The Spy of the Rebellion
  • (1885) A Double Life and the Detectives
  • (1886) The Railroad Forger and the Detectives
  • (1886) A Life for a Life; or, The Detective's Triumph
  • (188?) Professional Thieves and the Detectives
  • (1892) Cornered at Last: A Detective Story
  • (1900) Thirty Years a Detective


See also


  • American Civil War spies
    American Civil War spies

    Tactical or battlefield intelligence became vital to both armies in the field. Units of spies and scouts reported directly to the commanders of armies in the field....


External links