Allan Pinkerton

Birth Name:

Allan J. Pinkerton

Birth Date:

August 25, 1819

Birth Place:

Glasgow, Scotland

Death Date:

July 1, 1884

Place of Death:

No. 554 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois

Age:

Cause of Death:

Gangrene (disputed)

Cemetery Name:

Graceland Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Crime and their Victims

Associates:

Abraham Lincoln

Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish cooper, abolitionist, detective, and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during his time in the United States. When the Civil War began, Pinkerton served as head of the Union Intelligence Service during the first two years, heading off an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland while guarding Abraham Lincoln on his way to Washington, D.C. as well as identifying troop numbers in military campaigns. His agents often worked undercover as Confederate soldiers and sympathizers to gather military intelligence. Pinkerton himself served on several undercover missions as a Confederate soldier using the alias Major E.J. Allen. Following Pinkerton's service with the Union Army, he continued his pursuit of train robbers, including the Reno Gang. He 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.

Fun Fact:

In 1861, while investigating a railway case, Pinkerton uncovered an assassination plot against Abraham Lincoln. The conspirators intended to kill Lincoln in Baltimore during a stop on his way to his inauguration. Pinkerton warned Lincoln of the threat, and the president-elect’s itinerary was changed so that he passed through the city secretly at night. Lincoln later hired Pinkerton to organize a “secret service” to obtain military information in the Southern states during the Civil War. In Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi, he performed his own investigative work and traveled under the pseudonym “Major E.J. Allen.”

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Graceland Cemetery

4001 N Clark Street

Chicago, Illinois, 60613

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Graceland Cemetery, Chicago, Illinois

Graceland Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois courtesy of Jake Coolidge and Joe Collier

Grave Location:

Section C, Lot 554, Space 25

Grave Location Description

After entering the cemetery, head northeast on Main Avenue for about 750 feet. Then turn left on Center Avenue, and head north for about 720 feet until you reach the intersection. Allan Pinkerton’s grave will be on your right, about 50 feet east from the intersection.

Grave Location GPS

41.95776099206102, -87.66026858708979

Visiting The Grave:

Photos:

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FAQ's

Allan Pinkerton was born on August 25, 1819.

Allan Pinkerton was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

Allan Pinkerton died on July 1, 1884.

Allan Pinkerton died in No. 554 West Monroe Street, Chicago, Illinois.

Allan Pinkerton was 64.

The cause of death was Gangrene (disputed).

Allan Pinkerton's grave is in Graceland Cemetery

Videos Featuring Allan Pinkerton:

The Secret Plot to Kill Lincoln (That Failed!)

How the Pinkerton Agency Laid the Foundation for the FBI and CIA

Pinkerton's National Detective Agency Documentary

America's Private Eye - The Pinkertons - One Minute History

10 Exciting Adventures of the Pinkertons

How the Pinkertons Became the Most Infamous Detective Agency

See More:

Antonio Lombardo

Angelo Bruno

popular name: Angelo Bruno

date_of_death: March 21, 1980

age: 69

cause_of_death: Shotgun blast to the head

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Known as the “Docile Don,” his time at the top of Philadelphia’s criminal hierarchy was marked by a relative lack of violence, and like Bufalino, he kept a low profile. His organization ran gambling and loan sharking enterprises, and owned stakes in multiple legitimate businesses including an extermination company in New Jersey, an aluminum products company in Florida and a share in the Plaza Hotel in Havana, Cuba. Bruno was a powerful figure, and was reportedly a member of the mob’s all-powerful national commission. But he was considered something of an old-fashioned don and riled his underlings by refusing to allow them to be directly involved in drug trafficking and the considerable profits that accompanied it. This old-fashioned approach worked—the FBI didn’t make the Philadelphia mafia a priority during Bruno’s reign. But it also may have cost the crime lord his life. “He wasn't making any new members,” one investigator told the New York Times in 1982. “They say he was 'the gentle don.' That's bull. But he was conservative. He was cautious. He was old, and he didn't want to go to jail. These young guys were getting restless because they weren't making any money.” He prohibited his family’s involvement in narcotics trafficking and focused on traditional Costa Nostra operations like bookmaking and loan sharking. Some family members were discontent with this decision and suspected Bruno of profiting from the narcotics business secretly. This will ultimately lead to his murder. Upon his death, he was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Yeadon, PA.

Allan Pinkerton