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:
64
Cause of Death:
Gangrene (disputed)
Cemetery Name:
Graceland Cemetery
Claim to Fame:
Crime and their Victims
Associates:
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

Read More About Allan Pinkerton:

Videos Featuring Allan Pinkerton:

Watch YouTube video titled The Secret Plot to Kill Lincoln (That Failed!)
The Secret Plot to Kill Lincoln (That Failed!)
Watch YouTube video titled How the Pinkerton Agency Laid the Foundation for the FBI and CIA
How the Pinkerton Agency Laid the Foundation for the FBI and CIA
Watch YouTube video titled Pinkerton's National Detective Agency Documentary
Pinkerton's National Detective Agency Documentary
Watch YouTube video titled America's Private Eye - The Pinkertons - One Minute History
America's Private Eye - The Pinkertons - One Minute History
Watch YouTube video titled 10 Exciting Adventures of the Pinkertons
10 Exciting Adventures of the Pinkertons
Watch YouTube video titled How the Pinkertons Became the Most Infamous Detective Agency
How the Pinkertons Became the Most Infamous Detective Agency

See More:

Henry Bedard, Jr.

popular name: Henry Bedard, Jr.

date_of_death: December 16, 1974

age: 15

cause_of_death: Homicide - blunt force trauma

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Henry E. Bedard Jr. was a 15‑year‑old sophomore at Swampscott High School in Massachusetts. He was active in school sports—playing youth baseball and "Big Blue" football—and also worked at his father’s service station. Henry was considered a beloved member of his community, known for spending time with family and friends. On December 16, 1974, Henry was last seen after school doing some Christmas shopping. He stopped at a CVS in Vinnin Square, buying perfume as a gift for his sister. After leaving the mall, witnesses (including Swampscott Police Lieutenant Peter Cassidy) saw him walking along Paradise Road and entering a wooded area near the town’s Department of Public Works yard, a place known locally as “Swampscott View” or “Kite Hill.” The next day his body was discovered in that wooded area, behind the DPW building, under a pile of leaves. He had been severely beaten to death. Investigators found a Louisville Slugger baseball bat near the body—31‑inch, wooden—with distinctive carvings or markings on the handle, possibly Roman numerals or letters. The bat is believed to be a key piece of evidence. Despite investigations, including interviewing dozens of people, reviewing the evidence, and even exhuming Henry’s body recently to run updated forensic tests (such as DNA) and autopsy work, no one has been charged in his murder. The case remains unsolved half a century later with no suspect and no motive.

Michael Coppola

popular name: Michael Coppola

date_of_death: October 1, 1966

age: 66

cause_of_death: Kidney disease

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Michael "Trigger Mike" Coppola was a New York City mobster who became a caporegime of the 116th Street Crew, with the Genovese crime family. He entered the ranks of the New York mafiosi with a reputation as a morally depraved, sadistic and violent gunman during Prohibition. Coppola headed many Genovese family criminal operations from the late 1930s until the early 1960s. He is suspected of murdering his first wife, Doris Lehman, in 1943 because she overheard Coppola's plans to assassinate New York Republican Party political activist Joseph Scottoriggio. Doris Lehman was reportedly murdered by her Coppola a day after giving birth to prevent her from testifying against him (her scheduled testimony was postponed due to her pregnancy). Ann Coppola, Trigger Mike's second wife, filed for divorce, supposedly due to Coppola supplying drugs to her daughter, and later agreed to testify against Coppola in an income tax investigation. As a result, Coppola ordered several gunmen to kidnap and assault her. Found severely beaten on an isolated beach, Ann Coppola continued with the investigation. She later fled to Europe and overdosed on sleeping pills after sending a letter to the IRS detailing the criminal activities of the Luciano crime family.

Karla Faye Tucker

popular name: Karla Faye Tucker

date_of_death: February 3, 1998

age: 38

cause_of_death: Prison Execution - lethal injection

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Convicted for killing two people with a pickaxe during a burglary, she was the first woman to be executed in Texas since Chipita Rodriguez in 1863. Her execution received worldwide attention at the time.

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