Allan Pinkerton

Allan Pinkerton
c.1861
Born(1819-08-21)August 21, 1819
Glasgow, Scotland
DiedJuly 1, 1884(1884-07-01) (aged 64)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Resting placeGraceland Cemetery, Chicago, U.S.
Occupation(s)Cooper, abolitionist, detective, spy
Spouse
Joan Carfrae
​
(m. 1842)​
Children3

Allan Pinkerton (August 21, 1819[1] – July 1, 1884) was a Scottish-American cooper, abolitionist, detective, and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in the United States and his claim to have foiled a plot in 1861 to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln. During the Civil War, he provided the Union Army – specifically General George B. McClellan of the Army of the Potomac – with military intelligence, including extremely inaccurate enemy troop strength numbers.[2] After the war, his agents played a significant role as strikebreakers – in particular during the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 – a role that Pinkerton men would continue to play after the death of their founder.

  1. ^ Mackay (1997), p. 20; August 25 was the date of his baptism, which many sources incorrectly give as his birthdate.
  2. ^ Sears (2017), p. 104