Eugène François Vidocq

Eugène-François Vidocq (French: [øʒɛn fʁɑ̃swa vidɔk]; 24 July 1775 – 11 May 1857) was a French criminal turned criminalist, whose life story inspired several writers, including Victor Hugo, Edgar Allan Poe, and Honoré de Balzac. He was the founder and first director of France's first criminal investigative agency, the Sûreté Nationale, as well as the head of the first known private detective agency. Vidocq is considered to be the father of the French national police force. He is also regarded as the first private detective. Vidocq's birthday, 24 July, is celebrated as National-International Private Investigators Day.

Life

Eugène François Vidocq was born in Arras, northern France, during the night of 23/24 July 1775, in the Rue du Miroir-de-Venise, now the Rue Eugène-François Vidocq. He was the third child of Henriette Françoise Vidocq (maiden name Dion, 1744–1824) and her husband, baker Nicolas Joseph François Vidocq (1744–1799).

Childhood and youth (1775–1795)

Little is known about his childhood; most of it is based on his ghost-written autobiography and a few documents in French archives. His father was well educated and, for the time, very wealthy since he was also a corn dealer. Vidocq had six siblings: two older brothers (one of whom had died before he was born), two younger brothers, and two younger sisters.

Vidocq's teenage years were turbulent. He is described as being fearless, rowdy and cunning, very talented, but also very lazy. He spent much time in the armories (fighting halls) of Arras and acquired a reputation as a formidable fencer and the nickname le Vautrin ("wild boar"). By stealing, he provided himself with some level of comfort.