Theodore “Ted” Kaczynski, the Harvard-educated mathematician who spent 17 years directing a bombing raid that killed three people and injured 23 others, died Saturday. He was 81.
Kaczynski died at the medical center at the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, Kristie Breshears, a spokeswoman for the federal Department of Prisons, told The Associated Press. He was found lifeless in his cell early Saturday morning and was pronounced dead around 8am, she said. A cause of death was initially unknown.
Kaczynski was portrayed in and inspired several works. That includes the 1996 TV movie Unabomber: The True Storythe piece from 2011 Mailbox Unabomberand the movie 2021, ted k He is also the author of several books.
He had been held at the notorious Supermax Federal Penitentiary in Florence, Colorado since May 1998 before being transferred to the prison’s medical facility.
Kaczynski was sentenced to four life terms plus 30 years in prison for committing 16 bombings in 1978 and 1995 that permanently maimed several of his victims. He later issued a “Manifesto” explaining his reasons for committing the crimes and blaming technology for society’s ills. The manifesto “Industrial Society and Its Future” was published by the Washington Post and the New York Times under threat of further attacks. Ironically, the publication caught the attention of Kaczynski’s brother, who recognized the language and sentence patterns and contacted the authorities.
The Unabomber’s home-made bombs changed mail and boarding procedures for airlines, causing a temporary halt to West Coast air travel in July 1995.
Authorities arrested him in April 1996. He was arrested in a 10-by-14-foot plywood and tar paper shack outside of Lincoln, Montana. Inside were journals, an encrypted journal, explosive ingredients, and two ready-made bombs.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.