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William John Burns
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons11

William John Burns

American private investigator (1861–1932)

William John Burns (October 19, 1861 – April 14, 1932) was an American private investigator and law enforcement official. He was known as "America's Sherlock Holmes" and earned fame for having conducted private investigations into a number of notable incidents, such as clearing Leo Frank of the 1913 murder of Mary Phagan, and for investigating the deadly 1910 Los Angeles Times bombing conducted by members of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers.2

From Wikipedia’s article on William John Burns (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Oct 19, 1861, died Apr 14, 1932.1

About

From August 22, 1921, to May 10, 1924, Burns served as the fourth director of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI), predecessor to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

He was born in Baltimore and educated in Columbus. As a young man, Burns performed well as a United States Secret Service Agent and parleyed his reputation into the William J. Burns International Detective Agency, now a part of Securitas Security Services USA. A combination of natural ability as a detective combined with an instinct for publicity made Burns a national figure. His exploits made national news, the gossip columns of New York City newspapers, and the pages of detective magazines, in which he published true crime stories based on his exploits.

From Wikipedia’s article on William John Burns, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Career

Occupation: novelist, U.S. Secret Service agent.6

BOI career

Burns was considered well qualified to direct the Bureau of Investigation, and was friends with President Warren Harding's Attorney General Harry M. Daugherty. Burns was confirmed as Director of the Bureau of Investigation on August 22, 1921. He continued to run the Burns Detective Agency throughout his tenure as Director of the BOI. Under Burns, the Bureau shrank from its 1920 high of 1,127 personnel to 600 employees in 1923. Burns was responsible for hiring the first female special agents, Alaska P. Davidson in 1922 and Jessie B. Duckstein in 1923.

In the Summer of 1922, Burns orchestrated a raid on the Bridgeman Convention, where the American Communist Party was discreetly holding a meeting. Despite capturing swathes of incriminating evidence, the resulting prosecution was largely a failure. In the trial of trade union leader William Z. Foster, an undercover operative testified that Burns had ordered him to lie in order to frame Foster as a "dangerous subversive"; the case resulted in a hung jury.

At the request of Attorney General Daugherty, Burns sent agents to investigate Montana Sen. Thomas J. Walsh for evidence of criminal wrongdoing. The investigation was actually a pretext for retaliation; the congressman had been instrumental in opposing oil leases granted by Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall, a friend of Daugherty and fellow cabinet member. Burns later refused to turn over Department of Justice documents to Congressional investigators, who in turn began investigating the BOI; Senate hearing revelations of BOI misdeeds were avidly covered in the press, and became known as the Daugherty-Burns scandal. Burns's BOI field agents made visits to the offices of newspapers around the country who had presented the BOI's actions in a negative light; their clumsy attempts to intimidate newspaper editors caused a backlash in public opinion and Congress. Burns was forced to resign in 1924 at the request of Attorney General Harlan Fiske Stone and on May 10, 1924, J. Edgar Hoover took over the position on a provisional basis.

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Later life and death

After his retirement from the Burns Detective Agency, Burns moved to Florida and for several years published detective and mystery stories based on his long career. He died of a heart attack in Sarasota, Florida, in April 1932.

Burns was portrayed by actor Paul Dooley in the television miniseries The Murder of Mary Phagan. A fictionalized version of Burns was played by Gary Basaraba in the film Killers of the Flower Moon; this character was an amalgamation of Burns and other private investigators who were hired to look into the Osage Indian murders.

From Wikipedia’s article on William John Burns (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornOct 19, 1861, Baltimore7
  • DiedApr 14, 1932, Sarasota8
  • CitizenshipUnited States9

Burns married Annie M. Ressler in 1880. The couple had six children. Burns's sons, Raymond J. and William Sherman, also worked as detectives for the William J. Burns National Detective Agency.

From Wikipedia’s article on William John Burns (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Sources

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