![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a6/Allan_Pinkerton-retouch.jpg/640px-Allan_Pinkerton-retouch.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Allan Pinkerton
Scottish-American Civil War detective and spy (1819–1884) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[3]Allan Pinkerton (August 21, 1819[2] – 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.[4] 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.
Quick Facts Born, Died ...
Allan Pinkerton | |
---|---|
![]() c.1861 | |
Born | (1819-08-21)August 21, 1819[1][2] Glasgow, Scotland |
Died | July 1, 1884(1884-07-01) (aged 64) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Resting place | Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Cooper, abolitionist, detective, spy |
Spouse |
Joan Carfrae
(m. 1842) |
Children | 3 |
Close