   john edgar hoover (january 1, 1895&nbsp;â may 2, 1972) was the first director of the federal bureau of investigation (fbi) of the united states. appointed director of the bureau of investigationâpredecessor to the fbiâin 1924, he was instrumental in founding the fbi in 1935, where he remained director until his death in 1972 at age 77. hoover is credited with building the fbi into a larger crime-fighting agency, and with instituting a number of modernizations to police technology, such as a centralized fingerprint file and forensic laboratories. late in life and after his death hoover became a controversial figure, as evidence of his secretive, somewhat questionable, actions began to surface. his critics have accused him of exceeding the jurisdiction of the fbi; his critics largely claim that he used the fbi to harass political dissenters and activists, to amass secret files on political leaders,  and to collect evidence using controversial methods. documented in  and elsewhere. hoover consequently amassed a great deal of power an
1895_births 1972_deaths American_Presbyterians American_anti-communists American_people_of_English_descent American_people_of_German_descent American_people_of_Swiss_descent Burials_at_the_Congressional_Cemetery Cardiovascular_disease_deaths_in_Washington,_D.C. Directors_of_the_FBI George_Washington_University_Law_School_alumni George_Washington_University_trustee Honorary_Knights_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire McCarthyism National_Academy_of_Sciences_laureates People_from_Washington,_D.C.