Five Facts About America's First Private Detective

He Was Scottish

Born in Glasgow in 1819, Allan Pinkerton emigrated to America in 1842, surviving a harrowing shipwreck en route. A cooper by trade, he established a barrel-making business near Chicago, in the town of Dundee.

He became a detective by accident

While gathering wood for barrel-making, Pinkerton happened upon a band of counterfeiters. Hidden in the shadows and suspicious of their activities, he reported their operation to the police, who subsequently arrested the men. Another investigation followed, this time involving a farmer suspected of laundering forged bank notes. Posing as a prospective buyer, Pinkerton ingratiated himself with the rogue and helped secure the man’s arrest. Soon after, he was offered a job in law enforcement.

He hired America’s first female PI

Kate Warne, a 23-year-old widow from New York, walked into Pinkerton’s office in 1856, responding to an advert for a detective job. With no background in police work, she argued her case with conviction, persuading him that she could go places where men couldn’t and mix in circles where no one would suspect a woman of being an undercover agent. Pinkerton, who had originally assumed she was coming about a secretarial position, hired her on the spot, making her America’s first female private detective. His decision paid off: she became one of his most trusted operatives and eventually headed the agency’s female detective bureau.

He protected Abraham Lincoln from an assassination attempt

In November 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States. Many in the South opposed his abolitionist views, and word reached Pinkerton of an assassination plot due to take place in Baltimore. Unearthing the details through some wily detective work, Pinkerton arranged alternate travel for Lincoln, instructed him to stoop to conceal his six-foot-four frame, and persuaded him to replace his usual stovepipe hat with a soft felt one. Thanks to Pinkerton’s intervention, Lincoln survived and lived to see his inauguration.

He deserves credit for having saved Lincoln, but also for highlighting the need for presidential protection in the future.

Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, historian and author of Allan Pinkerton, America’s Legendary Detective and the Birth of Private Security

He (possibly) died a strange death

After a lifetime pursuing dangerous criminals, Pinkerton is said to have died following a much more ordinary mishap. According to accounts, in July 1884, Pinkerton was walking his dog. He tripped on the pavement and bit his tongue. Sadly, the wound became infected, turned gangrenous and led to the private detective’s demise.

It is a memorable story, though it may not be 100% accurate. Other accounts attribute his death to a stroke or malaria. Though Pinkerton died, he left behind a detective agency that is still active to this day.