Private investigator, criminologist, public official, and teacher Luke S. May was born in Nebraska on December 2, 1892, to parents William and Mary. The family eventually moved to Utah, where Luke and William operated May and Son, a house-building and carpentry business. When Luke May was 16, he first began to work with criminal investigation and opened his private detective agency, Maylon Detective Service, not long after. In 1914, May founded Revelare International Secret Service and began work with J. Clark Sellers. One year later, the agency moved from Utah to Pocatello, Idaho. Following May's service in World War I, John L. Harris joined the agency, which became known for its use of forensics, the scientific method, and other techniques that were not commonly used at the time.
In 1919, Luke May moved to Seattle. He quickly became a well-known figure in the city, as his work was frequently covered in the press. Although Sellers and Harris departed from the Revelare International Secret Service, May continued to work under that agency name until 1932, when it was renamed the Scientific Detective Laboratory.
In addition to his own investigative work, May also served as the President of the Institute of Scientific Criminology (1928); advisor to the faculty community of Northwestern University Law School (1929); an instructor of criminal investigation at the University of Washington (1922-1924), University of Oregon (1927), and Willamette University (1930-1931); president of the Northwest Association of Sheriffs and Police; and as the acting chief of detectives as the Seattle Detective Department (1933-1934). May was also the inventor of the "Revelarescope" microscope, which allowed for the comparison of separate objects at the same time.
May's work was widely feature not only in local newspapers, but also in
May was married three times. His third wife, Helen Ione Klog, grew up in Alaska during the Gold Rush. Luke and Helen had a daughter, Patricia. Luke S. May died of leukemia on July 11, 1965.
(Source: http://www.historylink.org/File/4241)
Organized into 5 accessions.
Correspondence, ephemera, scrapbooks and clippings, and writings by and about Luke S. May.
Some records stored offsite; advance notice required for use.
Open to all users, but access to portions of the collection is restricted. Contact Special Collections for details.
Some records stored offsite; advance notice required for use.
Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.
Records stored offsite; advance notice required for use.