FBI celebrates 100th anniversary
J. Edgar Hoover was the FBI's first director
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Saturday, 26, Jul 2008 12:01
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, better known as the FBI.
Officially created on July 26th 1908, under the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, the FBI initially consisted of just a handful of agents whose first task simply involved visiting and surveying prostitution houses.
Today, the bureau acts as the federal criminal investigative body and domestic intelligence agency for the entire United States of America and, with over 30,000 agents, is one of the country's most famous institutions.
The FBI owes much of its global fame to its first, and arguably most important, director J. Edgar Hoover, who served for nearly 48 years.
Mr Hoover headed the FBI during some of America's most important periods, including the second world war and the civil rights movement.
The bureau's notoriety grew considerably during the 1930s when crime swept the US as the Great Depression took its toll on American citizens.
It was during this period that famous criminals such as John Dillinger and George 'Machine Gun' Kelly were brought down by FBI agents and when they acquired the nickname G Men, a name still used today.
From this period onwards the FBI gained almost iconic status as a crime-fighting agency and during the second world war it grew from just a couple of hundred agents to almost 13,000.
Since the 1950s the FBI has published its Ten Most Wanted list, one of its most notable success stories.
The FBI claims to have caught a vast number of wanted criminals placed on the list. The current number one, however, al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden, remains on the run.
In recent years the FBI has come under considerable criticism, especially regarding the September 11th attacks on New York, with allegations suggesting it was unable to detect or prevent the attacks.
Despite the criticism though, the FBI remains as one of the most famous law enforcement agencies in the world.
Operating out of 500 domestic and 50 international offices, with an annual budget on £5 billion, it is truly an international institution with the most colourful of pasts.