Ted Kaczynski, the notorious Unabomber, died in prison on Saturday at the age of 81. Kaczynski was serving a life sentence for carrying out a series of mail bombings that killed three people and injured 23 others between 1978 and 1995.
Kaczynski was born in Chicago in 1942 and raised in Evergreen Park, Illinois. He attended Harvard University, where he earned a degree in mathematics in 1962. After graduating, Kaczynski moved to Montana, where he lived in isolation for several years.
In 1978, Kaczynski began sending mail bombs to universities, airlines, and other institutions. He claimed that he was targeting the “industrial-technological system,” which he believed was destroying human freedom.
The FBI launched a massive manhunt for Kaczynski, who was dubbed the Unabomber, a portmanteau of “university and airline bomber.” In 1995, Kaczynski’s brother, David, recognized his brother’s writing style in a manifesto that the Unabomber had sent to The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Kaczynski surrendered to the FBI and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He died at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, on Saturday.
Kaczynski’s death marks the end of a long and tragic chapter in American history. His crimes were horrific, but his ideas continue to resonate with some people. It is important to remember the victims of Kaczynski’s crimes and to work to prevent future tragedies.
