1. Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish-American detective, spy, abolitionist, and cooper best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency in the United States and his claim to have obstructed the plot in 1861 to assassinate then president-elect Abraham Lincoln.
Allan Pinkerton was born in the Gorbals, a working-class area of Glasgow, on August 21,1819, the second surviving son of William Pinkerton, a retired policeman, and Isobel McQueen; he was baptized on August 25,1819, which many sources incorrectly give as his birthdate.
Allan Pinkerton left school at the age of 10 after his father's death.
Allan Pinkerton was not raised in a religious upbringing, and was a lifelong atheist.
Allan Pinkerton built a cabin and started a cooperage, sending for his wife in Chicago when their cabin was complete.
At those meetings, Jones, Wagoner, and Allan Pinkerton helped purchase clothes and supplies for Brown.
Allan Pinkerton worked across the Deep South in the summer of 1861, focusing on fortifications and Confederate plans.
Allan Pinkerton was found out in Memphis and barely escaped with his life.
Allan Pinkerton was succeeded as Intelligence Service chief by Lafayette Baker; the Intelligence Service was the predecessor of the US Secret Service.
Allan Pinkerton's work led to the establishment of the Federal secret service.
Military historians have been strongly critical of the intelligence Allan Pinkerton provided for the Union Army, which for the most part was undigested raw data.
Allan Pinkerton's numbers caused McClellan to consistently believe that he was drastically outnumbered by the Confederate forces he faced.
Allan Pinkerton was hired by the railroad express companies to track outlaw Jesse James, but after Pinkerton failed to capture him, the railroad withdrew their financial support and Pinkerton continued to track James at his own expense.
In 1872, the Spanish Government hired Allan Pinkerton to help suppress a revolution in Cuba which intended to end slavery and give citizens the right to vote.
Allan Pinkerton married Joan Carfrae, a singer from Duddingston, in Glasgow on March 13,1842.
Allan Pinkerton is buried between his wife and Kate Warne in the family plot in Graceland Cemetery, Chicago.
Allan Pinkerton is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.
Allan Pinkerton was so famous that for decades after his death, his surname was a slang term for a private eye, whether they were agents of the Pinkerton Agency or not.
Allan Pinkerton produced numerous popular detective books, ostensibly based on his own exploits and those of his agents.