By: HISTORY.com Editors
J. Edgar Hoover begins his 48-year tenure as FBI director
J. Edgar Hoover is named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (now the FBI) on May 10, 1924. By the end of the year he was officially promoted to director. This began his 48-year tenure in power, during which time he personally shaped American criminal justice in the 20th century.
Hoover first became involved in law enforcement as a special assistant to the attorney general, overseeing the mass roundups and deportations of suspected communists during the Red Scare abuses of the late 1910s. After taking over the FBI in 1924, Hoover began secretly monitoring any activities that did not conform to his American ideal.
J. Edgar Hoover
Since their inceptions, the FBI and the CIA have been two separate entities, but did you know that these two organizations were almost combined in one agency, run by none other than J. Edgar Hoover?
Hoover approved of illegally infiltrating and spying on the American Civil Liberties Union. His spies could be found throughout the government, even in the Supreme Court. He also collected damaging information on the personal lives of civil rights activists, including Martin Luther King Jr.
While Hoover’s success at legitimate crime fighting was modest, his hold over many powerful people and organizations earned him respect and kept him in power. He was extremely successful at attracting attention and favorable press to the FBI. It wasn’t until after his death in 1972, right before the beginning of the Watergate scandal, that Hoover’s corruption became known.
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Citation Information
- Article Title
- J. Edgar Hoover begins his 48-year tenure as FBI director
- Author
- HISTORY.com Editors
- Website Name
- History
- Date Accessed
- October 29, 2026
- Publisher
- A&E Television Networks
- Last Updated
- May 28, 2025
- Original Published Date
- November 13, 2009
