Pinkerton National Detective Agency

The Pinkerton National Detective Agency was a security guard agency established in the United States in 1850 by Allan Pinkerton who became famous when he foiled a plot to assassinate president Abraham Lincoln. During labor unrest in the late 19th century, businessmen hired Pinkerton guards to keep strikers and suspected unionists out of their factories, the most notorious example being the Homestead strike of 1892, where hundreds of Pinkerton agents ended up killing several people by enforcing the strikebreaking measures of Henry Clay Frick (acting on behalf of Andrew Carnegie, who was abroad). The agency's logo, an eye embellished with the words "We Never Sleep" inspired the term "private eye." The "Pinkertons" were also used as guards in coal, iron and lumber disputes in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania, as well as the railroad strikes of 1877.

Related Topics:
Security guard - United States - 1850 - Allan Pinkerton - Abraham Lincoln - Strikers - Union - Homestead strike - 1892 - Henry Clay Frick - Andrew Carnegie - Private eye - Illinois - Michigan - New York - Pennsylvania - 1877

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 1870s, Franklin B. Gowen, then president of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad hired the agency to investigate the labor unions in the company's mines. A Pinkerton agent, James McParland, infiltrated the Molly Maguires using the alias James McKenna, leading to the downfall of this secret organization. The incident was the inspiration for Arthur Conan Doyle's The Valley of Fear, one of the few Sherlock Holmes stories which focus on the exploits of one of the characters in the story instead of Holmes himself.

Related Topics:
1870s - Franklin B. Gowen - Philadelphia and Reading Railroad - Molly Maguires - Arthur Conan Doyle - The Valley of Fear - Sherlock Holmes

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the Homestead Strike, the arrival, on July 6 1892, of a force of 300 hundred Pinkerton detectives from New York and Chicago resulted in a fight in which about 10 men were killed, and to restore order two brigades of the state militia were called out.

Related Topics:
Homestead Strike - July 6 - 1892 - Chicago - Militia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pinkerton agents were hired to track notorious western outlaws Jesse James, the Reno brothers, and the Wild Bunch (including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid).

Related Topics:
Jesse James - Reno brothers - Wild Bunch - Butch Cassidy - Sundance Kid

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pinkerton is currently a brand name for security guard services provided by Securitas AB.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~