Robert Fassnacht | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 14, 1937 South Bend, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | August 24, 1970 (aged 33) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Bomb explosion |
| Alma mater | Kalamazoo College University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Occupation | Physics researcher |
| Spouse | Stephanie Fassnacht |
| Children | Christopher, Heidi and Karin |
| Parent | Walter Fassnacht[1] |
Robert E. Fassnacht (January 14, 1937 – August 24, 1970) was an American physics post-doctoral researcher who was killed by the August 1970 bombing of Sterling Hall on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, perpetrated as a protest against the Vietnam War.[2][3]
Fassnacht was a student from South Bend, Indiana, who received a Westinghouse scholarship to attend college.[4] He was at the University of Wisconsin–Madison pursuing post-doctoral research in the field of superconductivity.
On Aug. 24, 1970, four young men, angry about the war in Vietnam, drove up to Sterling Hall in the middle of the night to bomb the Army Mathematics Research Center on the building's upper floors. They parked their Econoline van and lit a fuse, not thinking anyone was inside. Neither a soldier nor a radical, Fassnacht was caught in the crossfire.