VIVA – Detectives have been a part of human life since at least the 19th century. Although there is evidence of detective-like stories from 18th century China, the first real detective story was written by Edgar Allan Poe, about detectives in France.
Throughout history, real-life detectives have performed extraordinary acts and even rivaled each of their fictional exploits. Here are 10 detectives who have impressed the public with their abilities and personalities to live out their lives and missions.
1. Izzy Einstein dan Moes Smith
Isidor “Izzy” Einstein and Moe Smith were two middle-aged men from New York’s Lower East Side who managed to arrest 4.932 offenders, haul in roughly five million bottles of illegal liquor, and sport a conviction rate of 95 percent from 1920–1925.
For the most part, the couple became successful detectives because of their willingness to work long hours and their genuine knowledge of New York City life. Einstein was also gifted with language. It was known that they could speak to suspects and witnesses in Yiddish, German, Polish, Hungarian, and even Chinese.
2. Dave Toschi
Dave Toschi who served as inspector in the San Francisco Police Department from 1952–1983. He is also known as one of the main detectives involved in the still unsolved Zodiac case.
From December 1968 until October 1969, the Zodiac Killer terrorized San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area with a string of grisly murders. The killer taunted and tormented the police and public alike with bizzare letters or ciphers and several threats concerning acts of terrorism that would target school children.
The closest Toschi came to catching the Zodiac was the investigation of Arthur Leigh Allen, whom Toschi called the "best suspect" in the entire case.
3. Johnny Broderick
Johnny Broderick or often called the “Broadway Cop,” patrolled the New York theater district as a member of the New York Police Department from 1923–1947. In his day, Broderick was known throughout the city as the undisturbed cop.
His reputation is well-known for his willingness to beat up gangsters and suspects, and many stories about "Broadway Johnny" depict him as a larger-than-life tough guy who could easily curry favor with detectives created by writers like Dashiell Hammett.
4. William J. Burns
William J. Burns took the lead in investigating some of the most-covered crimes of the early 20th century. In 1910, Burns was hired as one of the principal investigators responsible for solving the deadly Los Angeles Times building bombing.
An early example of domestic terrorism, the bombing killed 20 people in the name of the workers' revolution. A year later, Burns and his men captured the dynamite, John J. and James B. McNamara, after following a trail of dynamite from the Midwest to Los Angeles.
5. Willian J. Flynn
William J. Flynn and William J. Burns were contemporaries who shared not only the same first name and middle initial, but the same appearance. Unlike Burns, Flynn spent several years as a professional attorney working for New York City.
While working as deputy commissioner for the NYPD, Flynn helped rearrange the Detective Bureau along the lines of Scotland Yard and the Secret Service.
Flynn also fought the first incarnation of the American Mafia, which at that time was ruled by the fearsome Giuseppe Morello. In 1910, Flynn and other members of the Secret Service office in New York were responsible for drafting the case that led to Morello being convicted of forgery.
6. Ellis Parker
Ellis Parker is also known as the "American Sherlock Holmes." However, unlike Burns and Holmes, Parker is not devoted to protecting a country or a major city. For 44 years, Parker was the Chief Detective of Burlington County, New Jersey, a rural area in the Delaware Valley.
One would think that life as a small-town detective would be far from pleasant, but over the course of his career, Parker investigated and solved approximately 300 crimes, many of which the local press has characterized as near-unsolvable mysteries.
7. Marcel Guillaume
One of the most famous cases of Marcel Guillaume occurred in 1933 when Violette Noziere, an 18-year-old girl from a middle-class family, poisoned her parents with a drink laced with excessive amounts of barbiturates. The father died, but the mother managed to survive.
Violette's next move only confirmed her mistake, as she first shopped with the money stolen from her parents and then tried to leave the country.
8. Ignatius Pollaky
Pollaky developed a reputation as a fascinating investigator during the 1860-1870s. Pollaky's ability to speak six languages, together with his deep interest in the workings of criminal thinking, make him a formidable detective.
Pollaky has investigated cases, the most famous of which was the 1860 Road House murder, which was the focal point of Kate Summerscale's famous book, The Suspicions of Mr. whicher. Although Summerscales book focuses mostly on Inspector Jack Whereer, the appendix notes that Pollaky was present during at least one official inspection.
9. Willian E. Fairbairn
Among the World Wars, Shanghai, China, was one of the most dangerous cities in the world. Divided into sections that separate the native Chinese from the Europeans, Shanghai is home to a powerful smuggling trade and several red-light districts that sell not only women, but also drugs and weapons.
Fairbairn quickly learns that walking around Shanghai as a patrol officer or plainclothes detective is equivalent to serving in a war zone, and by his own admission, he's been involved in about 600 combat situations with Shanghai criminals.
10. Raymond C. Schindler
Schindler at the age of 25 cooperated with the San Francisco Police Department for solving the corruption case involving high-ranking politicians.
While in San Francisco, Schindler was the head of the New York-based Schindler National Detective Agency (also known as the Schindler Bureau of Investigation) and was renowned throughout the country as a brilliant private investigator.
The use of the latest technology at that time, one of which was the dictograph. For a time, Schindler had exclusive rights to the dictograph, the type of recording device he used in most cases.
