de.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Edgar_Hoover
4 corrections found
Begründer und Direktor des Federal Bureau of Investigation
Hoover led the FBI, but he did not found it. The Bureau traces its origin to 1908, and the FBI identifies Stanley Finch as the Bureau’s first leader.
Full reasoning
This description overstates Hoover’s role by calling him the founder of the FBI.
According to the FBI’s own history, the Bureau that later became the FBI was created in 1908 by Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte. The FBI also says Stanley Wellington Finch was the Bureau’s first leader. Hoover did not join the Department of Justice until 1917, and the FBI states that he was appointed acting director on May 10, 1924.
So while Hoover was the long-serving director and was the first director after the Bureau adopted the name “Federal Bureau of Investigation” in 1935, he was not the founder of the organization.
2 sources
- The Bureau’s First Director — FBI
But while Hoover was officially the first director of the organization that became known as the FBI in 1935, after he had already served 11 years, the Bureau actually traces its history back to 1908. That’s when Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte created a small investigative force... In assembling his ‘force of special agents,’ Bonaparte selected... Stanley Wellington Finch to be its first leader.
- J. Edgar Hoover, May 10, 1924 - May 2, 1972 — FBI
On May 10, 1924, Attorney General Harlan Fiske Stone appointed the 29-year-old Hoover acting director of the Bureau, and by the end of the year Mr. Hoover was named Director.
Als erstem ungewählten Staatsbediensteten
Hoover was not the first unelected government official to lie in state in the Capitol. The Architect of the Capitol lists several earlier unelected honorees, including George Dewey, John J. Pershing, and Douglas MacArthur.
Full reasoning
The claim that Hoover was the first unelected government official to receive this honor is contradicted by the official historical list maintained by the Architect of the Capitol.
That list shows multiple unelected figures who lay in state in the Capitol before 1972, including:
- George Dewey (January 20, 1917), Admiral of the Navy
- John J. Pershing (July 18–19, 1948), General of the Armies
- Douglas MacArthur (April 8–9, 1964), General of the Army
All three were honored before Hoover’s lying in state on May 3–4, 1972. So Hoover was not the first unelected public servant to receive that honor.
2 sources
- Lying in State or in Honor | Architect of the Capitol
Those Who Have Lain in State or in Honor in the U.S. Capitol ... J. Edgar Hoover | May 3-4, 1972 ... First director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1924 until his death.
- Those Who Have Lain in State or in Honor (PDF) | Architect of the Capitol
George Dewey. January 20, 1917 ... Admiral of the Navy ... John J. Pershing. July 18–19, 1948 ... General of the Armies ... Douglas MacArthur. April 8–9, 1964 ... appointed general of the Army ... J. Edgar Hoover. May 3–4, 1972.
sich aus der Gefangenschaft von FBI-Agenten befreien konnten
At Little Bohemia, the gangsters were not in FBI custody and did not ‘free themselves from captivity.’ FBI histories say agents attempted a raid, but the gangsters escaped before agents had fully surrounded the lodge.
Full reasoning
This wording incorrectly suggests that the gangsters had already been captured by FBI agents and then escaped from custody.
According to the FBI’s own historical accounts, agents raided the Little Bohemia Lodge after receiving a tip, but the gangsters were not already prisoners. The FBI says the gangsters escaped before the agents could completely cover the building, and another official FBI account says Dillinger and his men got out the back of the lodge while agents were taking cover.
So the event was a failed raid and escape, not a case in which gangsters “freed themselves from FBI captivity.”
2 sources
- W. Carter Baum — FBI
Agents from the St. Paul and Chicago offices hurried to the area in an effort to apprehend the gangsters, who proceeded to escape under cover of machine gun fire before the agents could completely cover the building.
- Lessons at Little Bohemia — FBI
Dillinger and his confederates were upstairs in the lodge on the second floor ... While our agents ducked for cover ... Dillinger and his men got out the back of the lodge.
dabei zwei Agenten und ein Zivilist ums Leben kamen
At Little Bohemia, one FBI agent and one civilian were killed—not two agents and one civilian. FBI histories identify Agent W. Carter Baum and a civilian Conservation Corps worker as the fatalities.
Full reasoning
Official FBI accounts of the Little Bohemia raid do not support the claim that two agents and one civilian were killed there.
The FBI’s historical materials state that:
- a civilian Conservation Corps worker was killed when agents opened fire on a departing car during the raid; and
- FBI Special Agent W. Carter Baum was later ambushed and killed by Baby Face Nelson during the same night.
Those same FBI accounts say another agent and a local constable were wounded, not killed. The FBI separately notes that Nelson later killed two other agents—Cowley and Hollis—in a different gun battle on November 27, 1934, months after Little Bohemia.
So the death toll at Little Bohemia was one FBI agent and one civilian, not two agents and one civilian.
2 sources
- FBI Milwaukee Commemorates 80th Anniversary of Shootout at Little Bohemia — FBI
During the incident, a civilian Conservation Corps worker was killed. FBI Special Agent W. Carter Baum was ambushed and killed by another well-known gangster of the era, Baby Face Nelson, who shot and wounded FBI Special Agent Herman E. Hollis and a local constable in the same exchange.
- W. Carter Baum — FBI
On April 22, 1934, Special Agent W. Carter Baum was killed by 'Baby Face' Nelson, who would later claim the lives of two other FBI agents.