The agency’s founding has links to Abraham Lincoln
Allan Pinkerton, for whom the agency is named, founded the North West Police Service with fellow freemason, attorney Edward Rucker, in the 1850s. This would later become Pinkerton Detective Agency. Pinkerton claimed to have foiled the 1861 Baltimore Plot assassination attempt against President-elect Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln would later hire Pinkerton and his men to spy on the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
Kate Warne was the first female detective in the United States
Kate Warne began working for Pinkerton in 1856. Aged 23 at the time, she would become the first female detective in the United States. Her work during the 1861 Baltimore Plot to kill president-elect Abraham Lincoln on his way to his inauguration is legendary – she posed as a rich southern belle to infiltrate the would-be assassin organisation, and smuggled Lincoln by train car disguised as her sickly brother.
The agency had a violent chase with Jesse James, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Pinkerton agents were tasked with pursuing notorious western outlaws like Jesse James and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. In March,1874, during a confrontation with James’ gang, a Pinkerton agent was killed. They lost another agent at the hands of bank robbers Fred Lewis and Bill Randolph in 1903. Lewis and Randolph were both hanged for the crime.
Post-war, the agency went into strike-breaking and spying on unions
Pinkerton’s agency became strike-breakers post-war, infiltrating unions as spies and often inciting violence. Franklin B. Gowen, President of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, hired them in the 1870s to investigate mine labor unions. Pinkerton agent James McParland, using the alias James McKenna, infiltrated the Irish-American coal miners’ secret society, the Molly Maguires, leading to its downfall.
Many died during the Homestead Strike Massacre
300 Pinkerton men were sent as strike-breakers to the Homestead Steel Works in 1892 during the Battle of Homestead, Pennsylvania. They had planned on entering the locked out steelworks by river barges. The striking workers attacked the barges, attempting to set them alight and when this failed, created an oil slick on the river and set the river ablaze. Seven Pinkerton Agents were killed before the agency surrendered.
An Anti-Pinkerton act was passed by Congress
Following the Battle of Homestead, Congress passed the 1893 Anti-Pinkerton Act, which greatly limited ties between the federal government and the Pinkerton Detective Agency. It forbade individuals linked to the agency or similar groups from government employment in the U.S. or the District of Columbia. Additionally, the firm’s criminal detection work was impacted by the creation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1908.
The agency came into contact with the original Mona Lisa
In 1925, Allen Pinkerton, grandson of founder Allen Pinkerton Sr, incorporated the agency into one focusing primarily on security services. They guarded vital industrial and munitions sites during the Second World War and in 1962 were tasked with transporting the priceless Mona Lisa painting across the Atlantic as part of a worldwide tour of the artwork.
The agency expanded globally and played a part in the Indonesian riots
In 1965, Pinkerton changed its name to simply, Pinkerton Inc., reflecting how it had left its detective and policing work behind. They opened offices in Hong Kong in 1969, opening the doors for work around Asia. Their foothold in the region allowed Pinkerton Inc. to orchestrate the daring rescue of some 431 Americans during the Indonesian riots of 1998.
A Swedish-based firm combined the agency with their rival
In 1999, after over 150 years as one of the world’s most renowned and formidable detective and security companies, they were purchased by securities giant Securitas AB. The Swedish-based firm also purchased long-time Pinkerton rival Burns International around the same time, combining the two companies to create Securitas Security Services USA.
A Pinkerton guard fatally shot a protester
In 2020, Matthew Dolloff, an unlicensed security guard hired by Pinkerton, fatally shot Lee Keltner, a protester in Denver. Pinkerton had contracted Dolloff to protect a camera crew covering opposing political rallies. An altercation ensued, leading to Keltner spraying Dolloff with bear spray and Dolloff shooting Keltner. Charged with second-degree murder, Dolloff’s charge was later dropped after an investigation.
Modern Pinkerton clients include Magic: The Gathering
In 2020, Amazon enlisted Pinkerton, now SSS USA, to monitor warehouse workers for signs of union involvement. In 2022, Starbucks employed a former Pinkerton staff member in their anti-union efforts. In 2023, Wizards of the Coast made headlines when they hired SSS USA to retrieve yet to be released products from a Magic: The Gathering card set, incorrectly sent to YouTuber Dan Cannon.
