The FBI and Its History The agency now known as the Federal Bureau of Investigation was founded in 1908 when Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte appointed an unnamed force of Special Agents to be the investigative force of DOJ. Prior to that time, DOJ borrowed Agents from the U.S. Secret Service to investigate violations of federal criminal laws within its jurisdiction. By order of Attorney General George W. Wickersham, the Special Agent force was named the Bureau of Investigation in 1909. Following a series of changes in name, the Federal Bureau of Investigation officially received its present title i