Pinkerton's National Detective Agency records, 1853-1999

Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement

Biographical Notes and Organizational History

Allan Pinkerton (1819-1884)

Date	Event
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 United States Army
1861-1862	First chief of United States 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
1875	Published Claude Melnotte as a Detective, and Other Stories. Chicago: W. B. Keen, Cooke & Co. Published The Detective and the Somnambulist. Chicago: W. B. Keen, Cooke & Co. Published The Expressman and the Detective. Chicago: W. B. Keen, Cooke & Co.
1876	Published The Model Town and the Detectives. New York: G. W. Carleton
1877	Published The Spiritualists and the Detectives. New York: G. W. Carleton
1878	Published Strikers, Communists, Tramps and Detectives. New York: G. W. Carleton
1879	Published Criminal Reminiscences and Detective Sketches. New York: G. W. Carleton Published The Gypsies and the Detectives. New York: G. W. Carleton Published Mississippi Outlaws and the Detectives. New York: G. W. Carleton Published Mollie Maguires and the Detectives. New York: G. W. Carleton
1880	Published Bucholz and the Detectives. New York: G. W. Carleton
1881	Published Professional Thieves and the Detective. New York: G. W. Carleton Published The Rail-Road Forger and the Detectives. New York: G. W. Carleton
1883	Published Bank Robbers and the Detective. New York: G. W. Carleton Published The Spy of the Rebellion. New York: G. W. Carleton
1884	Published Thirty Years a Detective. New York: G. W. Carleton Published A Double Life and the Detectives. New York: G. W. Carleton
1884, July 1	Died, Chicago, Ill.

William A. Pinkerton (1846-1923)

Date	Event
1846, Apr. 7	Born, Dundee, Ill.
1861	Attended Notre Dame University, South Bend, Ind.
1861-1865	Served in Secret Service Division, United States 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)

Date	Event
1848, Dec. 2	Born, Dundee, Ill.
1864	Attended Notre Dame University, South Bend, Ind.
1864-1865	Served in the United States 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, N.Y., 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)

Date	Event
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, United States 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)

Date	Event
1904, Nov. 7	Born, Brooklyn, N.Y., son of Allan Pinkerton (1876-1930)
1927	A.B., 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 United States 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