Real-life Detectives Who Amazed the World

As the axiom goes “truth is stranger than fiction,” real-life detectives have carried out extraordinary feats in sleuthing that can put the fictional ones to shame.

[{"selector":"#anim-f7ca5b57-3401-4bac-80b8-7e47c50cb2ba","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-ba3ca67d-c049-4f4f-90ed-c76910a78e65","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":250,"duration":1500,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Brush Stroke

Raymond C. Schindler After working with the San Francisco Police Department on a graft case that involved high-ranking politicians, he was taken in as a protege by William J. Burns. By the 1910s he was the head of the New York-based Schindler National Detective Agency.

[{"selector":"#anim-aff244c5-64c1-43ee-9980-414efb1ee267","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2400,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-35c72791-26b0-4847-a205-712eb6ec7f53","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -98.70454%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2400,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Brush Stroke

William E. Fairbairn After serving in the British Royal Marines Fairbairn immigrated to Shanghai where he enlisted in the Shanghai Municipal Police. Nicknamed “Dangerous Dan,” he was an inspiration for the character of Q in Ian Fleming’s James Bond movies.

[{"selector":"#anim-b5c31672-ff29-45c8-8593-7b64bce47515","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":2400,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6848b765-c001-457c-8879-1acc7cc609ff","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(0px, -99.1823%, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":2400,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Brush Stroke

Ignatius Pollaky A Hungarian immigrant, “Paddington Pollaky,” Ignatius Pollaky was one of Victorian England’s first and most popular private detectives. Mixing with the list of Charles Dickens and Jack Whicher, he was detective in his own right.

Real-life Detectives Who Amazed the World

Oh, and they were so much better than fiction!

As the axiom goes “truth is stranger than fiction,” real-life detectives have carried out extraordinary feats in sleuthing that can put the fictional ones to shame.

Raymond C. Schindler After working with the San Francisco Police Department on a graft case that involved high-ranking politicians, he was taken in as a protege by William J. Burns. By the 1910s he was the head of the New York-based Schindler National Detective Agency.

William E. Fairbairn After serving in the British Royal Marines Fairbairn immigrated to Shanghai where he enlisted in the Shanghai Municipal Police. Nicknamed “Dangerous Dan,” he was an inspiration for the character of Q in Ian Fleming’s James Bond movies.

Ignatius Pollaky A Hungarian immigrant, “Paddington Pollaky,” Ignatius Pollaky was one of Victorian England’s first and most popular private detectives. Mixing with the list of Charles Dickens and Jack Whicher, he was detective in his own right.