Ted Kaczynski

"Unabomber" redirects here. For other uses, see Unabomber (disambiguation).

Ted Kaczynski
In orange prison garb, an unshaven Kaczynski stares sternly at the camera.
Kaczynski after his arrest in 1996
Born
Theodore John Kaczynski

(1942-05-22)May 22, 1942
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJune 10, 2023(2023-06-10) (aged 81)
Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
Other names
  • Unabomber
  • FC
Education
OccupationMathematics professor
Notable workIndustrial Society and Its Future (1995)
RelativesDavid Kaczynski (brother)
Conviction(s)10 counts of transportation, mailing, and use of bombs; three counts of first-degree murder
Criminal penaltySeveral consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole[a]
Details
Span of crimes
1978–1995
Killed3
Injured23
Date apprehended
April 3, 1996
Scientific career
FieldsComplex analysis
Institutions
ThesisBoundary Functions (1967)
Doctoral advisorAllen Shields
Other academic advisorsGeorge Piranian
Signature

Theodore John Kaczynski (/kəˈzɪnski/ ⓘ kə-ZIN-skee; May 22, 1942 – June 10, 2023), also known as the Unabomber (/ˈjuːnəbɒmər/ ⓘ YOO-nə-bom-ər), was an American mathematician and domestic terrorist.[1][2] He was a mathematics prodigy, but abandoned his academic career in 1969 to pursue a reclusive primitive lifestyle.

Kaczynski murdered three people and injured 23 others between 1978 and 1995 in a nationwide mail bombing campaign against people he believed to be advancing modern technology and the destruction of the natural environment. He authored Industrial Society and Its Future, a 35,000-word manifesto and social critique which opposes all forms of technology, rejecting leftism, and advocating a nature-centered form of anarchism.[3]

In 1971, Kaczynski moved to a remote cabin without electricity or running water near Lincoln, Montana, where he lived as a recluse while learning survival skills to become self-sufficient. After witnessing the destruction of the wilderness surrounding his cabin, he concluded that living in nature was becoming impossible and resolved to fight industrialization and its destruction of nature through terrorism. In 1979, Kaczynski became the subject of what was, by the time of his arrest in 1996, the longest and most expensive investigation in the history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI used the case identifier UNABOM (University and Airline Bomber) before his identity was known, resulting in the media naming him the "Unabomber".

In 1995, Kaczynski sent a letter to The New York Times promising to "desist from terrorism" if the Times or The Washington Post published his manifesto, in which he argued that his bombings were extreme but necessary in attracting attention to the erosion of human freedom and dignity by modern technologies.[4] The FBI and U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno pushed for the publication of the essay, which appeared in The Washington Post in September 1995. Upon reading it, Kaczynski's brother, David, recognized the prose style and reported his suspicions to the FBI. After his arrest in 1996, Kaczynski—maintaining that he was sane—tried and failed to dismiss his court-appointed lawyers because they wished him to plead insanity to avoid the death penalty. He pleaded guilty to all charges in 1998 and was sentenced to several consecutive life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.[a] In 2021, he received a cancer diagnosis and stopped treatment in March 2023. Kaczynski died by suicide in prison in June 2023.[10][7]


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  1. ^ Mahan & Griset (2008), p. 132.
  2. ^ Haberfeld & von Hassell (2009), p. 40.
  3. ^ Fleming, Sean (2022). "The Unabomber and the origins of anti-tech radicalism". Journal of Political Ideologies. 27 (2): 2–3. doi:10.1080/13569317.2021.1921940. ISSN 1356-9317.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference desist was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ U.S. v. Kaczynski, 551 F.3d 1120 (9th Cir. 2009)
  6. ^ U.S. v. Kaczynski, 239 F.3d 1108 (9th Cir. 2001)
  7. ^ a b Sisak, Michael R.; Balsamo, Mike; Offenhartz, Jake (June 11, 2023). "'Unabomber' Ted Kaczynski died by suicide in prison medical center, AP sources say". Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 12, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  8. ^ Johnston, David (May 5, 1998). "Unabomber Sentenced to 4 Life Sentences". The New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Boston eight life was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Thrush, Glenn (June 11, 2023). "Kaczynski Died by Suicide, Prompting Questions of Prison Security". The New York Times. p. A20. Archived from the original on June 10, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023.