Immigrant of the Day: Allan Pinkerton (Scotland)

Allan Pinkerton (1819 –1884) was a U.S. detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton Agency, the first detective agency of the United States.

Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland. A cooper by trade, he immigrated to the United States in 1842, at the age of 23. In 1849 Pinkerton was appointed as the first detective in Chicago. In the 1850s, he partnered with Chicago attorney Edward Rucker to form the North-Western Police Agency, later known as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. As the United States expanded in territory, rail transportation increased. Pinkerton’s agency solved a series of train robberies during the 1850s.

After Pinkerton’s death, the agency continued to operate and soon became a major force against the labor movement in the United States and Canada. Many labor sympathizers accused the Pinkertons of inciting riots in order to discredit unions and justify police crackdowns.

Pinkerton was so famous that for decades after his death, his surname was a slang term for a private eye.

Pinkerton produced numerous popular detective books, ostensibly based on his own exploits and those of his agents.

KJ