Pinkerton (detective agency) Pinkerton (detective agency) Pinkerton, founded as the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, is a private security guard and detective agency established in the United States by Scotsman Allan Pinkerton in 1850 and currently a subsidiary of Securitas AB. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired Pinkerton agents for his personal security during the Civil War. Pinkerton's agents performed services ranging from security guarding to private military contracting work. Pinkerton was the largest private law enforcement organization in the world at the height of its power. During the labor strikes
William J. Burns International Detective Agency William J. Burns International Detective Agency The William J. Burns International Detective Agency was a private detective agency in the United States, which was operated by William J. Burns. It was headquartered in Briarcliff Manor, New York from 1969 to 1983. The Burns Agency was hired to track down Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) organizers in the aftermath of the Wheatland Hop Riot. Burns agents infiltrated the Industrial Workers of the World during an organizing drive in the copper mines of Arizona. Activities included issuing fake IWW membership cards, infiltrating the workforce, spying, and intercepting the mail of organizers.