Allan Pinkerton Tells His Story as the First Private Eye Agency and Saving President Lincoln

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My name is Allan Pinkerton, and I spent my life chasing criminals, protecting presidents, and revolutionizing the way investigations were conducted. You might recognize my name because I founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, one of the first and most famous private detective organizations in the world. Let me tell you my story.

I was born on August 25, 1819, in Glasgow, Scotland. My father was a police officer, but he died when I was young, leaving my family in a tough situation. I became a cooper (a barrel maker) to help support my family, but I also got involved in politics, supporting the fight for workers' rights. This got me into trouble with the British government, and in 1842, I had to leave Scotland. That’s how I ended up in America, looking for a fresh start.

I settled in Chicago, Illinois, where I started a cooperage business. One day, while gathering wood near a river, I stumbled upon a gang of counterfeiters hiding out in the forest. Instead of ignoring it, I kept watching them, gathered evidence, and tipped off the local sheriff. My information led to their arrest, and suddenly, people saw me as someone who could solve crimes. Before I knew it, I became Chicago’s first official detective.

In 1850, I founded the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Our motto was “We Never Sleep”, and we used the iconic logo of an unblinking eye, which is where the term “private eye” comes from! My agency was different from anything that had existed before. We used surveillance, undercover agents, and careful detective work to track criminals, stop train robberies, and even protect government officials.

One of my biggest successes came in 1861, when I uncovered a plot to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln before he took office. My agents infiltrated the group planning the attack and discovered that they intended to kill Lincoln as he traveled through Baltimore. I personally warned Lincoln and arranged for him to secretly travel through the city in disguise, saving his life. After that, he trusted me, and when the Civil War began, he put me in charge of Union military intelligence.

During the war, my agency gathered information on Confederate spies, intercepted messages, and helped the Union stay ahead of its enemies. I even went undercover in the South myself. However, not all of my intelligence was perfect—at times, I overestimated enemy troop numbers, which caused Union generals to hesitate when they should have attacked. Still, I helped shape the future of military intelligence.

After the war, I continued expanding my agency, going after some of the most dangerous outlaws of the Wild West, including Jesse James and Butch Cassidy’s gang. My detectives were relentless, and even though we didn’t catch them all, we changed the way law enforcement operated.

I passed away on July 1, 1884, but my agency continued to grow. Over time, Pinkerton detectives were hired not just to solve crimes but also to break up strikes and control labor movements, which made us controversial. Some saw us as protectors of law and order, while others saw us as working against the rights of workers.

Looking back, I know I wasn’t perfect, but I always believed in justice, hard work, and staying one step ahead of the criminals. If there’s one lesson I want you to take from my story, it’s this: never ignore the details, and always trust your instincts—because sometimes, the smallest clue can change history. Thank you for listening.

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