Pinkerton's National Detective Agency

Biographical Notes and Organizational History

Allan Pinkerton (1819-1884)

• 1819, Aug. 25: Born, Glasgow, Scotland
• 1842: Married Joan Carfrae Fled to North America fearing arrest for activities in Chartist Movement, residing first in Montreal, Canada
• 1842 - 1843 : Worked as a cooper in Chicago, Ill.
• 1843 - 1850 : Operated a cooperage in Dundee, Ill.
• 1847: Discovered counterfeiters while scouting for barrel timber on the Fox River
• 1850: Worked in Chicago, Ill., as a criminal investigator; appointed Special United States Mail Agent to investigate series of postal thefts
• circa 1852: Formed a detective agency in Chicago, Ill., with attorney Edward A. Rucker, the first of several detective businesses
• 1853: Appointed deputy sheriff of Cook County, Ill.
• 1855: Signed contract to guard Illinois Central Railroad
• 1861: Amid fears of assassination, secretly escorted Abraham Lincoln on train from Baltimore, Md., to Washington, D.C., for presidential inauguration Organized first secret service division of the U.S. Army
• 1861 - 1862 : First chief of U.S. Secret Service
• 1863 - 1865 : Conducted investigations in New Orleans, La., of fraudulent claims of property loss against the United States government
• 1863 - 1884 : Director, Pinkerton's National Detective Agency, with headquarters in Chicago, Ill., and offices in other major cities
• 1868: Published History and Evidence of the Passage of Abraham Lincoln from Harrisburg, Pa., to Washington, D.C., on the 22d and 23d of February, 1861. (Chicago: Republican Print. 18 pp.)
• 1875: Published Claude Melnotte as a Detective, and Other Stories (Chicago: W. B. Keen, Cooke & Co. 282 pp.) Published The Detective and the Somnambulist (Chicago: W. B. Keen, Cooke. 241 pp.) Published The Expressman and the Detective (Chicago: W. B. Keen, Cooke. 278 pp.)
• 1876: Published The Model Town and the Detectives (New York: G. W. Carleton. 288 pp.)
• 1877: Published The Spiritualists and the Detectives (New York: G. W. Carleton. 354 pp.)
• 1878: Published Strikers, Communists, Tramps and Detectives (New York: G. W. Carleton. 412 pp.)
• 1879: Published Criminal Reminiscences and Detective Sketches (New York: G. W. Carleton. 324 pp.) Published The Gypsies and the Detectives (New York: G. W. Carleton. 330 pp.) Published Mississippi Outlaws and the Detectives (New York: G. W. Carleton. 377 pp.) Published Mollie Maguires and the Detectives (New York: G. W. Carleton. 552 pp.)
• 1880: Published Bucholz and the Detectives (New York: G. W. Carleton. 341 pp.)
• 1881: Published Professional Thieves and the Detective (New York: G. W. Carleton. 598 pp.) Published The Rail-Road Forger and the Detectives (New York: G. W. Carleton. 364 pp.)
• 1883: Published Bank Robbers and the Detective (New York: G. W. Carleton. 339 pp.) Published The Spy of the Rebellion (New York: G. W. Carleton. 688 pp.)
• 1884: Published Thirty Years a Detective (New York: G. W. Carleton. 616 pp.) Published A Double Life and the Detectives (New York: G. W. Carleton. 360 pp.)
• 1884, July 1: Died, Chicago, Ill.

William A. Pinkerton (1846-1923)

• 1846, Apr. 7: Born, Dundee, Ill.
• 1861: Attended Notre Dame University, South Bend, Ind.
• 1861 - 1865 : Served in Secret Service Division, U.S. Army, and later with his father in New Orleans, La., investigating fraudulent claims of property loss against the United States government
• 1862: Wounded by exploding shell during battle at Antietam, Md.
• 1865: Attended Notre Dame University, South Bend, Ind.
• 1866: Detective on criminal cases for the Pinkerton agency Married Margaret Ashling (died 1895)
• 1884: Upon death of father, managed western division of the Pinkerton agency from Chicago, Ill., in partnership with brother, Robert Pinkerton Specialized in bank protection
• 1923, Dec. 11: Died, Los Angeles, Calif.

Robert A. Pinkerton (1848-1907)

• 1848, Dec. 2: Born, Dundee, Ill.
• 1864: Attended Notre Dame University, South Bend, Ind.
• 1864 - 1865 : Served in the U. S. army with his father in New Orleans, La., investigating fraudulent claims of property loss against the United States government
• 1865: Attended Notre Dame University, South Bend, Ind.
• 1868: Assigned to Pinkerton's New York, N.Y., office
• 1875: Married Anna Elizabeth Hughes
• 1884: Upon death of father, managed eastern division of the Pinkerton agency from New York in partnership with brother, William Pinkerton Built protective patrol while also investigating criminal cases
• 1880s: Began long association with Jockey Club to police horse racetracks and betting syndicates in the New York, N.Y., vicinity
• 1907, Aug. 12: Died aboard steamer Bremen in the Atlantic ocean en route to Europe

Allan Pinkerton (1876-1930)

• 1876, June 30: Born, Brooklyn, N.Y., son of Robert A. Pinkerton
• 1896: Graduated from Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Entered the Pinkerton agency as a private detective
• 1902: Married Franc Woodworth
• 1918: Appointed major of infantry, U.S. army, serving on the staff of Gen. John J. Pershing at Chaumont, later as assistant provost marshal at Tours and Bordeaux, and finally in charge of criminal investigations for the provost marshal general's department. Medical discharge for tuberculosis.
• 1923: Became sole family director of Pinkerton's National Detective Agency
• 1925: Incorporated the agency and became its first president
• 1930, Oct. 7: Died, New York, N.Y.

Robert A. Pinkerton (1904-1967)

• 1904, Nov. 7: Born, Brooklyn, N.Y., son of Allan Pinkerton (1876-1930)
• 1927: A.B. degree, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
• 1928: Attended Columbia University Law School, New York, N.Y.
• 1929 - 1934 : Stockbroker, Carlisle, Mellick & Co., New York, N.Y.
• 1930: Assumed leadership of Pinkerton's National Detective Agency upon death of his father, Allan Pinkerton (1876-1930) Married Louise Eliot
• 1936: Testified on behalf of the Pinkerton agency in U. S. Senate investigation of industrial espionage and interference with the right of labor to organize and bargain collectively
• 1937: Pinkerton's board of directors supported recommendation to eliminate labor investigations
• 1942 - 1945 : Industrial guard services increased during war years
• 1940s - 1960s : Criminal detection replaced by commercial investigation and security services
• 1965: Agency's name changed to Pinkerton's Inc., to reflect its function in supplying security services to industrial plants, banks, hospitals, universities, racetracks, sporting events, and fairs
• 1967: Resigned as president of Pinkerton's Inc.; named chairman of the board
• 1967, Oct. 11: Died, Bay Shore, N.Y. End of Pinkerton family direction for the agency

From the guide to the Pinkerton's National Detective Agency Records, 1853-1999, (bulk 1880-1920), (Manuscript Division Library of Congress)