Ted Kaczynski

American mathematician and domestic terrorist, called the Unabomber. Between 1978 and 1995, Kaczynski murdered three individuals and injured 23 others in a nationwide mail bombing campaign against people he believed to be advancing modern technology and the destruction of the natural environment. He was taken into custody on 3 April 1996 with overwhelming evidence of his guilt.

Kaczynski was a gifted child but was shy and aloof. As an infant, he was hospitalized for several weeks and the hospital staff discouraged the parents from visiting their child and prevented them from holding him in their rare visits. He reportedly was never the same. He excelled in school, skipping two grades and graduating at age 16. He obtained his bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1962, with a major in mathematics, later earning his master's and Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Michigan. He landed a fellowship grant to conduct research and published several papers. In 1967, he landed an assistant professor's position with the University of California at Berkeley. He resigned suddenly and without explanation in 1969, moving to a remote shack, living on very little, obtaining odd jobs when he needed money, and receiving a bit of financial support from his family.

In May 1978, a bomb was sent to a professor at Northwestern University. A security guard opened it and sustained minor injuries. Several bombs were sent by mail to others but did not cause much injury until 11 December 1985 when a computer store owner was killed. In 1987 a similar incident occurred and he was spotted wearing a hooded sweatshirt but not identified though sketches appeared in major newspapers. On 24 June 1993 a Yale University computer science professor with a distinguished reputation was sent a bomb and was injured when it exploded. The person who was then called the Unabomber sent a letter to the New York Times proclaiming that an anarchist group was responsible.