Allan Pinkerton

1819 - 1884

Allan Pinkerton
©2011 Gazetteer for Scotland

Private detective. Born in the Gorbals district of Glasgow, Pinkerton left Scotland for the USA hurriedly in 1842, following his involvement in left-wing protests. In 1852, he formed the first detective agency, in Chicago, which solved a series of train robberies. In 1861, he foiled an assassination plot in Baltimore, while guarding Abraham Lincoln (the US President) on his way to his inauguration. He served as Head of the U.S. Secret Service (1861-62). Pinkerton is buried in Chicago.

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