Allan Pinkerton(1819-1884)
Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1819. As a young man
he became involved in the struggle for voting rights for Scots.
Disappointed with the movement's failure, and chafing under the
political restrictions existing in the U.K. at the time, he emigrated
to the U.S. Traveling throughout the Midwest, he finally settled in
Chicago and secured a job as a deputy sheriff. He discovered that he
had a real knack for catching criminals, and in 1852 formed his own
company, the Pinkerton Detective Agency--the first of its kind in the
country--and was soon hired to track down and capture a bandit gang
responsible for a series of train robberies. His success in that
endeavor resulted in his getting more business and his agency expanded.
Pinkerton was extremely careful in the selection of his agents and the
Pinkerton Agency soon developed a reputation--among both law-abiding
citizens and criminals--as being tough, tenacious and incorruptible,
which was more than could be said for many of those in "official" law
enforcement at that time, especially in the West and Southwest. The
agency's reputation--it never gave up until its quarry was either
captured or killed, no matter how long it took--was such that merely a
rumor that "the Pinkertons are after you" was enough to cause many a
bandit gang to break up and flee the area (the company's logo, a large
black and white eye, was responsible for the coining of the term
"private eye").
After the Civil War Pinkerton set out to capture the infamous James Gang led by the notorious brothers Frank James and Jesse James, a task that took the agency the better part of ten years. Several times they came close to capturing the gang. On one occasion they raided the James homestead, missing the brothers by just minutes; frustrated, one Pinkerton man tossed a lit stick of dynamite into the James home. The resulting explosion severely injured Mrs. James, who lost an arm. Eventually Jesse was murdered for the reward by two of his own gang members, and Frank surrendered not long after that.
Allan Pinkerton died in 1884, leaving the agency - which is still in business - to his two sons.
After the Civil War Pinkerton set out to capture the infamous James Gang led by the notorious brothers Frank James and Jesse James, a task that took the agency the better part of ten years. Several times they came close to capturing the gang. On one occasion they raided the James homestead, missing the brothers by just minutes; frustrated, one Pinkerton man tossed a lit stick of dynamite into the James home. The resulting explosion severely injured Mrs. James, who lost an arm. Eventually Jesse was murdered for the reward by two of his own gang members, and Frank surrendered not long after that.
Allan Pinkerton died in 1884, leaving the agency - which is still in business - to his two sons.