This official coffee-table history of the FBI celebrates the agency’s 100th anniversary in July 2008. The book traces the FBI’s journey from fledgling startup to one of the most respected and recognized names in national security.

It takes you on a walk through the seven key chapters in FBI history—the early formative period; the gangster-driven crime wave of the ‘20s and ‘30s; the anxious age of World War II and the Cold War; the turbulent ‘60s and its burgeoning civil rights movement; the systemic corruption of the Watergate years; the rise of global terror and crime; and the post 9/11 era.

The book includes extensive photographs, including never-before-seen pictures from the FBI files.

Foreword
On July 26, 2008, the FBI celebrates its 100th anniversary as a crime fighting and national security agency dedicated to protecting America and the international community from a world of dangers.

As you will see, since its earliest days there really hasn’t been the investigative equivalent of a dull moment for the FBI. Each point in Bureau history has had its own cast of colorful characters, its own investigative challenges and controversies, its own milestones and major cases.

Here on these pages, for example, you will read about that warm summer night when, with FBI agents closing in outside the Biograph Theater in Chicago, the hard-bitten bank robber John Dillinger drew his gun for the last time. You will come across secret-stealing spies, with their hidden messages in hollowed-out nickels and childrens’ dolls. You will encounter historic figures like Charles Bonaparte, the progressive attorney general who got it all started, and J. Edgar Hoover, the long-lasting director who turned the FBI into a household name. You will find Watergate and Waco, Murder Inc. and Mississippi Burning, Al Capone and al Qaeda. ...

Visit THE FBI: A Centennial History, 1908-2008 Website

You can download full publication in PDF format.

To help commemorate its 100th anniversary, the FBI has produced its first coffee-table history, The FBI: A Centennial History, 1908-2008. The 132-page book traces the FBI’s journey from fledgling startup to one of the most respected names in national security, taking you on a walk through the seven key chapters in Bureau history. It features overviews of more than 40 famous cases and an extensive collection of photographs.

Download THE FBI: A Centennial History, 1908-2008

PDF format, 25MB, 138Pages.

FBI Directors, 1908-2008

Stanley W. Finch, 1908-1911

When a “special agent force” was created in the summer of 1908, Stanley Finch—the Chief Examiner at the Department of Justice—was placed in charge. Finch oversaw the early Bureau and its growth under the White Slave Traffic Act of 1910. He placed so much importance in the enforcement of this law that he left the Bureau in 1911 and became Special Commissioner for the Suppression of White Slave Traffic.

Alexander Bruce Bielaski, 1911-1919

In 1911, A. Bruce Bielaski became head of the Bureau, managing Neutrality Act violations and other national security matters as they became Bureau priorities. He led the organization through World War I and oversaw its rise to become America’s domestic counterintelligence agency.

William J. Flynn, 1919-1921

Former New York Secret Service Agent William Flynn was appointed Chief of the Bureau in 1919 and was charged with stopping the terrorist attacks that plagued the nation following the end of World War I.

William J. Burns, 1921-1924

Head of an international detective agency and a famed former Secret Service Agent, William Burns was appointed Director with the mission to reform the Bureau’s operations and reduce its workforce in an era of tightening budgets. He created the first training program for new agents and oversaw a number of other reforms, many led by his assistant, J. Edgar Hoover. At the request of Attorney General Harlan Fiske Stone, Burns resigned in 1924 because of his role in the Teapot Dome Scandal.

J. Edgar Hoover, 1924-1972

Appointed in the wake of a political scandal that brought down his predecessor, J. Edgar Hoover deserves the lion’s share of the credit for making the Bureau what it is today. He served as Director for 48 years—the longest of any FBI Director or other government leader. Along the way, he molded the FBI’s investigative and intelligence capabilities and helped preserve national security and stability during the lawless gangster years, World II and the Cold War, and the tumultuous 1960s. Although his reputation was tarnished by mistakes and controversies in his later years, his vision of law enforcement professionalism and scientific-crime fighting, tempered by the need to uphold the Constitution, remain staples of the FBI and of police work to this day.

Clarence M. Kelley, 1973-1978

Clarence Kelley was the first Director to rise through the ranks of FBI, joining as an agent and rising to the rank of Special Agent in Charge. He later left the Bureau to serve as the Chief of Police in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was a noted innovator. Taking the reigns of the FBI in the midst of the Watergate crisis, Kelley led the Bureau through some of its darkest years, insisting that the organization maintain Hoover’s vision of professionalism while pursuing quality investigations that took advantage of the FBI’s national scope and ability to run long-term, highly complex cases.

William H. Webster, 1978 to 1987

Building on Kelley’s work, former U.S. Attorney and federal judge William Webster continued the fight against mobsters and crooked politicians as the Bureau applied lessons learned from the intense scrutiny and criticism of the post-Watergate era. Under Webster, the FBI’s national security focus grew as well, with many successful spy investigations and a rising response to global terrorism and drug trafficking. In 1987, Webster left the FBI after being asked to reform the CIA following the Iran-Contra scandal.

William S. Sessions, 1987 to 1993

Like Judge Webster, William Sessions came to the Bureau from the federal bench. Following the collapse of the Iron Curtain in the early 1990s, Sessions led the FBI through a significant shift in priorities, adjusting national security strategies and placing more emphasis on burgeoning violent crime. He also led technical innovations in DNA analysis and strengthened the Bureau’s focus on white-collar crime.

Louis J. Freeh, 1993 to 2001

A former special agent and federal judge, Louis Freeh began his tenure as Director with a clearly articulated agenda focused on deepening and evolving crime problems both at home and abroad. Recognizing the growing globalization of crime, he responded by greatly enhancing foreign partnerships and doubling the number of FBI offices overseas. Freeh also guided the Bureau through increasing investigations of domestic and international terrorism and created new programs and initiatives to address the rise of cyber crime.

Robert S. Mueller, September 4, 2001 to Present

Former federal prosecutor Robert Mueller was sworn into office with a mandate to strengthen the overall management of the FBI. One week later, the events of 9/11 gave the Bureau a new overriding mission—to prevent terrorist attacks and dismantle terrorist networks worldwide. In response, Mueller led a far-reaching transformation, massively upgrading the Bureau’s counterterrorism operations and turning the FBI into an intelligence-led national security agency. He also spearheaded major improvements in information technology, lifted Bureau partnerships to new levels, and elevated the importance of investigating and preventing cyber attacks.

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