Theodore John Kaczynski

Serial Killer

Theodore John Kaczynski: The Unabomber

Early Life and Academic Career

Theodore John Kaczynski, commonly known as Ted Kaczynski, was an American serial bomber and murderer who conducted a nationwide campaign of violence lasting from 1978 until 1995. His homemade bombs killed three people, injured approximately two dozen others, and created fear among university professors, scientists, airline officials, computer specialists, advertising executives, and forestry-industry representatives. The Federal Bureau of Investigation called the case "UNABOM," a name derived from the early university and airline bombing targets. The unidentified attacker consequently became known to the public as the Unabomber. Kaczynski was born on May 22, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. Exceptionally intelligent from an early age, he entered Harvard University when he was only 16 years old. He later earned a doctorate in mathematics from the University of Michigan and became an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Despite his academic achievements, he resigned from Berkeley in 1969 and gradually withdrew from conventional society. In 1971, he settled near Lincoln, Montana, where he lived in a small cabin without electricity or running water. From his isolated home, Kaczynski developed an increasingly hostile view of industrial society and technological advancement. He believed modern technology was destroying individual freedom, damaging the natural environment, and forcing human beings into lives controlled by large organizations. Instead of limiting himself to writing or peaceful protest, he began constructing explosive devices and directing them at people he associated with technology, universities, aviation, computers, genetics, advertising, and the timber industry.

The Beginning of the Bombing Campaign

Kaczynski's first known bomb was discovered on May 25, 1978, in a parking area at the University of Illinois Chicago Circle Campus. The package carried the return address of Northwestern University professor Buckley Crist, although Crist had not sent it. The package was taken to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where campus police officer Terry Marker opened it on May 26. The device exploded, causing cuts and burns to Marker's hands and arms. The first bomb was crude compared with the weapons Kaczynski would later build, but it introduced several features that became central to his campaign. He used ordinary materials, planted misleading evidence, avoided leaving useful fingerprints, and attempted to make the device difficult to trace. His bombs were frequently concealed inside packages, wooden boxes, books, binders, or objects that appeared harmless. On May 9, 1979, another device exploded at Northwestern University. Graduate student John Harris noticed a container in a room used by students and attempted to open it. The explosion caused minor injuries. Later that year, Kaczynski expanded his attacks beyond university campuses and targeted commercial aviation. ...

Confirmed Victims: (3)

Hugh Scrutton Age: (38), Date of Death: 1985-12-11

Survivors:

Terry Marker , Date of Attack: 1978-05-25

John Harris , Date of Attack: 1979-05-09

Percy Wood , Date of Attack: 1980-6-10

Patrick Fischer , Date of Attack: 1982-05-05

Diogenes Angelakos , Date of Attack: 1982-07-02

John Hauser , Date of Attack: 1985-05-15

Nicklaus Suino , Date of Attack: 1985-06-13

Gary Wright , Date of Attack: 1987-02-20

Charles Epstein , Date of Attack: 1993-06-22

David Gelernter , Date of Attack: 1993-06-24

Unabomber - FBI