Eugene Francois Vidocq, a French detective, born in Arras, July 23, 1775, died in Paris, May 10, 1857. He began life as a baker, and early became the terror of his companions by his athletic frame and violent disposition. At the same time he was a notorious thief, and after many disgraceful adventures turned up as a soldier, and then as a spy. He was imprisoned at Arras at the instance of the terrorist Lebon, whose sister he married after his release. He accused her of faithlessness, enlisted in the army, and in 1796 returned to Paris with some money, which he soon squandered. Next he was sentenced at Lille to eight years' hard labor for forgery, but repeatedly escaped; and in 1808 he became connected with the Paris police as a private detective. His antecedents enabled him to render important services, and he was appointed chief of the brigade de sureté (safety brigade), chiefly composed of reprieved convicts and others of similar character, which purged Paris of the many dangerous classes. In 1818 he received a full pardon, and his connection with this service lasted till about 1828, when he settled at St. Mandé as a paper manufacturer. Soon after the July revolution he became a political detective, but with little success.

In 1836 he opened an office to aid in the recovery of stolen property, but it was closed by the police, and he narrowly escaped imprisonment. In 1848 he was again employed under the republican government, but he died penniless. Many works which he did not write appeared under his name, including Les vrais mysteres de Paris (7 vols., Paris, 1844), and Les chauffeurs du nord (5 vols., 1845-'6); some authorities also deny his authorship of his Mémoires (4 vols., 1828; English translation, London, 1828). The best sketch of Vidocq is by M. B. Maurin (Paris, 1858).