Top Moments in FBI History

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is observing its 100th anniversary this year. The agency, which now has 30,000 employees charged with investigating criminals who break federal laws, will officially mark 100 years of service on July 26, 2008.

As part of the 100th anniversary observance, the agency has chosen its top 10 moments in its history, from the many important events and cases it has been involved with in the past century. As the FBI website says, "Over the course of a century—during which we've been involved in just about every major event in U.S. history and had countless innovations and famous cases—it's hard to pick just ten.'

Following are some of the key moments in FBI history. Click on the links to read more details:

The Bureau is Born - July 26, 1908
When Congress passed a law banning the practice of using local and state law enforcement personnel from investigating federal crimes, U.S. Attorney General Charles Bonaparte started what would become the FBI with 34 agents.

Hoover Takes the Helm - May 10, 1924
Appointed to clean up a scandal-plagued Bureau, 29-year-old Acting Director J. Edgar Hoover immediately began instituting a series of reforms that transformed the FBI -- but not without controversy.

The Kansas City Massacre - June 17, 1933
Before Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd and others suddenly opened fire on a group of lawmen transporting an escaped convict back to prison, most FBI agents did not carry guns or make their own arrests. That changed after the Kansas City Massacre.

The Death of Dillinger - July 22, 1934
Bureau agents tracked notorious gangster John Dillinger down and shot him dead in the streets of Chicago as he reached for his gun. The successful investigation gave the largely-unknown agency worldwide fame and was the beginning of the end of the lawless gangster years.

To Catch a Spy - September 1, 1947
In a project known as Venona, FBI Special Agent Robert Lamphere combined his expertise and the Bureau’s growing knowledge of Soviet espionage with the work of the Army’s brilliant cryptanalyst Meredith Gardner to begin to make sense of Soviet telegrams which helped them identify more than 100 Soviet agents.

Mississippi Burning - June 21, 1964
The FBI's investigation of the deaths of three civil rights workers, who disappeared June 21, 1964, drew national outrage over the crime and helped spur passage of the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Along with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, these laws gave the FBI the authority to investigate civil rights violations.

For the rest of the list, see The Top Ten Moments in FBI History

^{Photo: FBI}