This is from ListVerse. 

I knew about Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith but I never heard of any of the others.

The literary detective has been a part of our imagination since at least the 19th century. Although there is evidence of detective-like stories from 18th-century China, the first true detective stories were penned by Edgar Allan Poe, whose eccentric Parisian sleuth C. Auguste Dupin foreshadowed the later Sherlock Holmes. In Poe’s wake came storytellers of varying degrees of competency, and before long, full-length detective novels were being sold across the world.

But, as the axiom goes, “truth is stranger than fiction.” Throughout history, real-life detectives have performed amazing feats of sleuthing that rival any fictional exploits. These 10 gumshoes dazzled the general public with their abilities and larger-than-life personalities, and they were also involved in some of the most historically important cases of their respective eras.

10…