#SOLOLIVES: KATE WARNE

#SoloLives is our feature in which we look at notable single women in history.

Kate Warne holds a unique place in history – she’s considered the first female detective. And, like many fictional detectives depicted in TV and literature, she was single for most of her life. Here are three facts about Kate Warne:

• As a detective for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, she posed as a Southern Belle to gather information for the Union during the Civil War and she protected Abraham Lincoln from an assassination plot when he was elected President in 1861.

• She was widowed at an early age. As a detective, she was “infiltrating that world of women who are hearing and seeing [while] people are looking right past her,” said Brian Meltzer, author of “The Lincoln Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill America's 16th President--and Why It Failed.”

• For a fictional look at Warne, check out "Girl in Disguise" by Greer McAlister, “Better Angels: A Kate Warne Adventure” by Jeff Jensen and "The Detective’s Assistant" by Kate Hannigan.