Eugene Francois Vidocq: The First Modern detective

[@machintelligence]

"His service in the military corrupted his morals" -- his prior behavior suggests there was precious little to corrupt.

[@JTA1961]

But now he knew how to work a gun

[@geoffgill5334]

Turned my son in law a high school history teacher on to THG yesterday he went wild. With reason, thank you!!!

[@josephmastroianni1560]

I'm just a regular person in Boston media. We lie about massacres n stuff. Page 1 on a desk. #Boston2024

[@paullsmith1867]

I thought you were going to say that you turned in your own son in law. Lol.

[@adarkerstormishere]

You are a stellar father-in-law, sir.

[@euansmith3699]

4:18 "... soldiering had corrupted a naturally honourable mind..." say the guy who robbed his parents blind. Thanks for another crazy piece of history.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Yup- stole their silver long before becoming a soldier.

[@charlotteemerson5050]

I was never very interested in history while young. My husband inspired a slight interest around 20 years ago. That's cause I don't care much about watching TV and he was more than welcome to watch what he wanted. I eventually would watch with him an hour or so a few times a week. I felt we should do something together more than just weekends. He was dyslexic so reading (my go to for relaxation) wasn't a good pick for him. He passed several years ago. I do like the way you present history so you have revived my interest.

[@misledprops]

That’s adorable and awesome! Although he is gone in body, it’s touching to hear you are keeping your late husband’s spirt alive.

[@bradhatcher]

Aw what a sweet story. Great that your interest has revived. Sorry for your loss

[@barrydysert2974]

Oh Bless You sweet Lotte or Char or Charlie to honor your man so!!:-)

[@mitsukaishoushi4459]

I’m so sorry for your lost. I never really cared much about history either but what really interests me is how crazy history can be. Not so much of how long ago it was but more so how crazy things have been in humanity

[@jetaddicted]

Vidocq was one of my ancestors. Interestingly, a lot of males from this lineage had weird lives, most ended up in the military, one got guillotined (I never could find the reason, but it was undoubtlessly a murder), another got killed through the use of a butcher’s hook, his soon got smashed by a train, yet another received no less than three headwounds during WWI, sent back to the front every time, went berserk upon his last return to the lines and started firing at his officers, accusing them of being his enemies more than the Germans since after all it wasn’t the Germans that kept sending him to his death. He got decommissioned for “troubles du discernement”: problems coping with reality. No surprize, after three headshots (2 bullets and a shrapnell, a part of his skull was replaced by a metal plate). Given that you’d get shot for insubordination back then, I think the doc that deemed him crazy actually saved his life. So yeah, being a descendant of Vidocq isn’t always a blessing.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

I must say, he was a character....

[@markchase5323]

With his penchant for bedding young ladies, you probably have a lot of his progeny unwittingly raise by other men after their future brides had secured the deposition of his DNA.

[@gorkivalenzuela6940]

Don't worry, we all are going to die sooner or later.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@gorkivalenzuela6940 don't remind me. I'm on the wrong side of 50 now.

[@kesmarn]

Fascinating family history! Thanks for sharing some more of this story that deserves to be remembered.

[@-jeff-]

Your story goes to prove the old saying: "It takes a thief to catch a thief."

[@PhilKelley]

I had read a brief account of Vidocq in Jacques Barzun's From Dawn to Decadence, where he recommends Vidocq's memoir and his influence on writers. Thank you for adding more detail to my sketchy knowledge. As one who enjoys crime stories, and literature in general, this one was particularly interesting for its insight as to the origins and inspirations for some great stories.

[@anthonymullen6300]

I haven't checked out this channel in few years, it's gone from 20 to 30000 subscribers to over 1 million 😮well done 👍

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Welcome back!

[@johnmonkey1874]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Congrats! It's a fantastic channel.

[@anthonymullen6300]

@@johnmonkey1874 I'm back!

[@trumpetmom8924]

Figured out really quickly that Vidocq was the model for both Valjean and Javert in Les Miserables. Just from his stealing silver from his baker father and then later becoming a detective.

[@bkohatl]

Vidocq was the model for Edgar Allan Poe's Inspector Dupin, who served as the model for Sherlock Holmes, though Sherlock denied the connection in one of the stories, eventually, Arthur Conan Doyle admitted the connection.

[@christianfreedom-seeker934]

My jaw dropped open when I heard about this! I am totally amazed!! You hit another Home Run, History Guy!!

[@rayraudebaugh5395]

Thank you for another great slice of history. I am a retired police officer and even taught a few classes at an academy including one that covered the history of policing. Sad to say, my research for the lesson plan failed to find any mention of Vidocq so thank you so much for correcting my egregious oversight.

[@truthseeker3236]

Sir you should be famous world wide don't ever change This is a fantastic you tube channel and you are making history that should be remembered Thanks again. Nothing is as powerful as knowledge God bless you and your family

[@stevedietrich8936]

Pretty amazing life that this man lived, considering that I had never heard the name prior to today. I especially enjoyed the connection to les miserables.

[@Mambo.Canibal]

There’s a pretty sick movie about him, not very historically accurate, but cool nonetheless

[@nilo70]

Thank you Lance for making this wonderful episode !

[@larrygarrett724]

An especially great episode at a time when crime and solvers of crime are all the rage on TV and all the subscription entertainment vehicles. They have gained the popularity that Westerns enjoyed during the 40s,50s and 60s. This episode of THG gets to the Genisis of modern detective and crime solving. It also demonstrates how there is a thin line between law and lawless that has and continues to be a problem. Thank you History Guy for a spectacular history lesson that deserves to be remembered!

[@HM2SGT]

I wonder how many teachers and professors of History are improving their classes and lectures with the help of the history guy?

[@hankvandenakker4271]

MY THOUGHTS ALSO. WHO WOULDN'T BE EAGER TO ATTEND, AND EQUALLY EAGER TO SHARE THE LESSONS. I WISH I HAD "THG" AS A TEACHER WHEN I WAS YOUNG.

[@dougearnest7590]

@@hankvandenakker4271 - I'm sure many of your teachers wished for something similar -- only one prep, only three times a week, 10 to 15 minutes long, getting to talk about whatever they wanted to talk about, with a small staff to assist in putting it all together.

[@johnchristopher20]

Fortunately for the history guy, his wife is a librarian. As is mine. ;)

[@hankvandenakker4271]

@@dougearnest7590 YES, THE TEACHERS ARE OVERWORKED. BUT THG BUILDS INTEREST IN ANY TOPIC HE DISCUSSES. JUST LOOK AT HIS BODY OF WORK- FIND THE LEAST INTERESTING VIDEO AND WATCH IT... YOU WILL BE HAPPY FOR IT. BUT MORE MUST BE DONE TO HELP OUR OVERWHELMED, UNDER-PAID EDUCATORS. OR THE FUTURE WILL LOOSE OTHER "THG"S THAT BRING TOPICS TO LIFE.

[@hankvandenakker4271]

@@johnchristopher20 GREAT! 2 OF MY SISTERS WERE LIBRARIANS. WONDERFUL WOMEN, BUT WHEN ASKED A QUESTION- THEY ALWAYS SAID; "LOOK IT UP". AND THEY WERE CORRECT, WHILE LOOKING UP A SUBJECT OR WORD IN OUR ENCYCLOPEDIAS WE FOUND MORE INFO ON MANY TOPICS THAN WE SET SEARCH FOR.

[@SueCarey9]

You always have such interesting information. I find myself going on to research further after you speak on a subject. Thank you so much for providing history in a way that is entertaining and factual.

[@penguinista]

Another excellent addition to the popular knowledge base. Thank you!

[@whitedomerobert]

How far we have come. Always informed, reaching and true to form. Thanks History Guy Team, from the first you have been a “ tour de force “ , a successful experience in Historical education. I love it. R.

[@goldgeologist5320]

Very interesting! Another winner from THG that I never knew about. Thank you.

[@twistedleft1060]

Thank you Sir! Great video. I had read of Vidocq and his contributions to police work, but I think I learned more about him from your video than I ever had in earning my Masters in Investigations.

[@grahamrankin4725]

I have met several members of the Vedoq Society at American Academy of Forensic Science national meetings. Interesting work they do.

[@JTA1961]

& for the most part largely thankless... true blue... not focused on revenue enhancement

[@TrikeRoadPoet]

What a character! Living life with his own style and direction. A wonderful story and a most unique man to be sure.

[@TheKulu42]

Great! I had never heard a really good description of Vidocq's life before now.

[@stevedietrich8936]

Coffee ingested, brain turned on, please begin . . .

[@crystald8465]

🤣🤣🤣Exactly

[@euansmith3699]

"Atomic Batteries to power! Turbines to speed!" cue the 1960's Batman theme music.

[@1977Yakko]

If only this guy has a ship, he may have been considered a pirate.

[@comentedonakeyboard]

All good Biographies involve Piracy.

[@justinpino8115]

That resignation letter was hysterical. What a character

[@Paladin1873]

This episode smacks of intrigue.

[@DRFelGood]

Thank you for sharing ❤️

[@lisabaker8120]

Thank you for this fascinating story!

[@ryanharris1052]

Wonderful stuff as always. It’s always great to learn something new you didn’t even know you didn’t know.

[@julianpalmer4886]

You always know when the H.G. is excited by his oncoming dissertation; he smiles & slightly chuckles. Yes, he has a real dossie

[@JTA1961]

Poker may not be his game...

[@dirtcop11]

Was he the inspiration for Poe's C. Auguste Dupin? Murders in the Rue Morgue was considered the first modern detective story.

[@RandyH400]

Great show. Thanks

[@RH-xm5uk]

This Vidocq was the centre figure in a weekly strip comic. Long ago. Never knew that it was an actual historic figure. Interesting episode. Most of his real life was indeed in the comic.

[@markp4967]

Always, always, always - the BEST of History!

[@75RWM]

Always ready to settle back for another ripping yarn... or any story with pirates.

[@boogerie]

Vidocq's Memoirs were an inspiration for Edgar Allan Poe in his inventing the detective story. He showed Poe how NOT to tell a story. The way Vidocq told it he always knew who committed the crime and he captured the wrongdoer with out a hitch. Poe dramatized the process of detective and put in red herrings to thicken the plot

[@be6715]

I was hoping that he would talk about the connection with Poe. I thought I had read that Poe was the first writer of crime fiction, with 'Murder in the Rue Morgue'. Maybe he wasn't actually the first....?

[@boogerie]

@@be6715 Poe is the father of the detective story. Vidocq did not write fiction.

[@alanfarnworth3805]

another astounding episode, quite stunning

[@sterfry8502]

I was hoping for a little more redemption but man what a great story! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ all the way. 💯❤️

[@charlesclager6808]

Vidocq was quite a guy. A criminal and a lawman. I've always said that the best detectives are former criminals. Who knows the best way to track and capture criminals are reformed criminals themselves. As usual a great profile of an infamous man. Thanks.

[@whuspr]

I just discovered this youtube channel after watching The Fall of the House of Usher. :) I was reading about C. Auguste Dupin and discovered Eugene. I love the format of your videos!

[@angeljamais8541]

I seem to remember two French TV series of his "adventures", with two different actors, from around 1970.

[@marydonohoe8200]

Both Javert AND Jean Valjean! Who knew? This is great fun. What a complex guy, and a fascinating life!

[@simonrisley2177]

What an extraordinary man. You really couldn't invent him! As I was watching, it occurred to me that he had certain parallels with the notorious 18th Century "Thief-taker General", Jonathan Wilde. A man who -- unlike Vidocq -- eventually got his well deserved come-uppance at Tyburn. In fact Jonathan Wilde would make a really excellent subject for this series...

[@gregkail4348]

Thanks again for expanding my knowledge, well done.

[@beefgoat80]

I've been following you for years. I have no idea how you keep coming up with ideas for unique topics. I'm not complaining at all. Just astounded by your continued creativity. Keep up the good work! And, happy Thanksgiving!

[@rickhobson3211]

I can always count on the History Guy for a ripping good yarn! Still waiting for that HG/Mark Felton/Townsends crossover...

[@b_uppy]

Not heard of Felton but heard of Townsend's. Sounds like the start of a good mash up! Love to see them do a show together...

[@barvdw]

@@b_uppy Felton is pretty decent on military history, but I prefer THG for his broader selection of topics.

[@b_uppy]

@@barvdw I noticed the same thing. I love the broad randomness THG is able to do. So much interesting stuff too. Saw weird Nazi stuff on Felton's channel. As long as it's not advocating Nazis...decided to sub anyway.

[@just-dl]

I’d buy season tickets for that!!

[@umpdaddy1]

What an amazing life he led. He must have been a very congenial fellow because he could move in so many different strata of society.

[@pamelamays4186]

A man who's inspired many generations.

[@frankgulla2335]

Fascinating video about a marvelous historical figure. More detective stories (2nd only to pirates.)

[@thetyperpiper]

The Vidocq Society reminds me of The Court of Last Resort, started by Erle Stanley Gardner. He gathered together a group of forensic specialists to investigate prisoners who were falsely convicted of crimes. He even did a book on their successes (and failures). In one of his biographies, it was even pointed out that he changed the course (and unified in many parts of the country) how policemen investigated crimes. You might want to check that it ... I think it would make an excellent episode.

[@matthewpoplawski8740]

AS ALWAYS THE HISTORY GUY, AN EXCELLENT VIDEO!! Vidocq sounds like, to me, a true-to-life Baron Munchausen. I may be wrong,but, I think Vidocq was an inspiration for the author O.Henry , as he had written two short featuring TICTOQ, THE WORLD FAMOUS DETECTIVE (whether O. Henry knew of his past life is something I'm not sure of).🤔🤔🤔🌞🌞🌞✌✌✌✌

[@TomDLuv777]

Another excellent video by the History Guy. HAGD everyone. :)

[@DavidSmith-fw6uj]

Love from DeKalb Mississippi USA 🇺🇸

[@iankelly5797]

Love your stuff.

[@theodoresmith5272]

Love this guys videos. Good stuff. Wish he did some 1 hour more in depth stuff.

[@sandybarnes887]

Approximately once a week he releases an hour long podcast

[@barryallenflash1]

I am SO glad I subscribed to your channel. Seeing as my wife and I are both history buffs we've learned a LOT from watching your channel...Thank YOU!! How about doing a video on the origin of the Army "rank" system? Where did "private", "corporal", "sergeant", etc...stem from? After spending 14 years in the Army, I'm still a bit puzzled as to it's origin. Thanks!!

[@62forged]

I am Sherlock Holmes fan and now I know some of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's inspiration. Thank you.

[@LindaCasey]

How on EARTH do you find all your stories?!! Absolutely fascinating material. 🌹

[@auntyangie33]

Excellent.

[@trescatorce9497]

"Catch me if you can" 150 years before. Or, Elliot Ness and J Edgar Hoover were inspired by him, or, "the name is Vidocq, Eugene Vidocq"

[@runningintohistory]

Very interesting!

[@PBGetson]

You mentioned Sir Robert Peel while talking about Vidocq, he would be a good subject for an episode.

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Talked about him in this episode: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n4PGdZ2pr7GUgc0

[@PBGetson]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Thank you. I did a search for the word Peel, and it didn't come up in any of the videos. Of course I didn't think to search for the name of a helmet. :)

[@markrowland1366]

What a man. Shows you women love a determined man.

[@Rahatlakhoom]

Vidocq, bigger than life, an inspiration to the later great, Inspector Sphincter Clench of Scotland Yard and his alimentary mysteries.

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

It's so true that it takes a crook to catch another one!

[@kathischenk8195]

What a fascinating life he had!

[@marvwatkins7029]

Sounds like a very active fellow.

[@TheHylianBatman]

Wow, that's quite the legacy.

[@pamwren6866]

Fascinating!

[@marknovack2451]

your route 66 sign is sliding down behind the top shelf of the bookcase...

[@annierichardson5296]

There is a fascinating and chilling book about The Vidocq Society titled "The Murder Room", by Michael Capuzzo. It outlines some of their more famous cases (John List among them), delves into the bloodcurdling realm of forensic psychology, and tells of a cold case that even these geniuses just couldn't crack.

[@fitzspike]

What a character!

[@hmmmiseeisee]

Thanks!

[@kayzeaza]

I always love your videos

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

If this was not rhe History Guy; I would call this a pitch meeting for some BBC show? 😳 A key out of a carrot? 🥕🙄 The guy sounds like 19th century MacGyver/ Jim Rockford.

[@michaelhewitt258]

I know of him now Didn't before He had an influence on modern crime detection

[@rikurodriguesneto6043]

excellent

[@dougearnest7590]

A master of disguise with a propensity for using unorthodox methods for catching criminals -- a Frenchman, head of the Sûreté -- was Vidocq not also the inspiration for the greatest fictional detective of all time -- Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau?

[@karlbrundage7472]

Do you have a lissaunce for your menkey?

[@q.e.d.9112]

@@karlbrundage7472 “There is a Beumb undare ze table.”

[@ssatva]

"There is a time for laughing, and a time for not laughing, and this is not one of them!"

[@RobertGarlinghouse]

"I am not a feelthy little Frenchman, I am a feelthy little Belgian!"

[@evensgrey]

In a very real sense, as the founder of modern policing, he can be argued to be the inspiration for nearly all detectives. (For instance, it is quite easy to draw a line from Vidocq through Dupin of Poe's works, to Sherlock Holmes, and all the way to Fox Mulder.) I would say, specifically, that Clouseau draws in equal parts Vidocq and circus clowns. And that he is the progenitor of the current character Johnny English. (Not a detective per se, but he does solve crimes in the course of protecting Britain.)

[@harisblackwood9331]

I love your channel. I’m subscribed. I wish you would slow the pace of your speech down just a bit.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

What a guy,he led an interesting life for sure....Thanks to THG l know who this man was and some of what he did...!

[@bravokilo8478]

HISTORY GUY, want an idea for a tale about a divided city, and fire departments having open street brawls with the Fire Department? Try the Toronto Riot of 1855, a story that truly, deserves to be remembered.

[@BasicDrumming]

I Love History!

[@jetownsend1]

Only one thing would have made this crazy story better; pirates.

[@afterthought3341]

Love hats and of course The History Guy !

[@sindarpeacheyeisacommie8688]

This guy is like a combination of Alkibiades and Sherlock Holmes.

[@gorkivalenzuela6940]

Excelent!!!

[@mikeg3660]

Very interesting.

[@heidiedelman6840]

What an interesting life!

[@historywatch-4U]

Wow. Somebody put this guy in a tv series.

[@dsc4178]

His reputation lead to many a writer to say, "I can use that."

[@lizj5740]

*led

[@b_uppy]

In the German movie M the criminals trying to catch a murderer marked the serial killer with an M. Sounds inspired by Vidocq...

[@HootOwl513]

In chalk. One guy layered up the letter M with chalk on his palm, and then, when he found Peter Lorre's character. slapped him on the back, marking his coat. Lorre never knew he'd been made. Great film from Fritz Lang.

[@b_uppy]

@@HootOwl513 It was a good movie. Had a lot of depth. Does sound inspired by Vidocq, doesn't it? Both crooks and cops looking for him. Vidocq was both...

[@HootOwl513]

@@b_uppy To be honest, I had not heard of Vidocq until today. Having seen ''Lez Mis'' the Jean Valjean character pops out, especially with the galley slave background. And Vidocq never strangled little girls. I have heard that the organized criminals were an allegory for the then-rising National Socialist German Workers Party, who were criminals below the surface. In German slang of the period was used non-pejoratively, like ''Radical'' or ''Awesome.'' Especially among aviation enthusiasts flying gliders, since they were breaking the Law of Gravity. = 'That's cool.'

[@b_uppy]

@@HootOwl513 Never accused Vidocq of strangling. Not sure why your making that point. Yes, criminals are a political symbol for Socialists and especially Communists. It was how they were used in M.

[@HootOwl513]

@@b_uppy Sorry, I may have confused your Vidocq parallel with the Title character's role. Yes Vidocq was associated with the criminal underworld and the police. Whitey Bulger was an FBI snitch for a long time and used the association to get away with murder. The Walther PPK was designed as a concealable pistol for undercover police agents. The initials stood for Pistole Politzei, Kriminal. And Stalin's first job was being a bank robber.

[@myragroenewegen5426]

Morally facinating, even at a glance! Maybe he did pursue his own profit by preying on others, while ostensibly working to solve crime, but the interesting part of this story is how to reconcile that with a man who cared to try to create a paper mill to transition peopl out of the vicious cycle of the prison system.

[@constipatedinsincity4424]

BACK IN THE SADDLE AGAIN!

[@themonkeyhand]

This would be a helluva TV series. No need to fluff it out, dude did legendary shit all the time. But I bet he used the police to boost his own standing. Original Kingpin.

[@alancranford3398]

I heard of Vidocq because that was part of security guard training over a period of three decades.

[@marvwatkins7029]

Movie needed.

[@shawnr771]

A ripping yarn indeed. Even if he did not do everything in his memoirs there was plenty of adventure and numerous notable and not so notable accomplishments. His life certainly was not boring.