By: Ethan Shen

When Ted Kaczynski was discovered and arrested, he was one of the most feared figures in America. Known as the Unabomber, his name is a combination of the of prefixes “un” and “a”, referring to universities and airlines, his early targets.

He was known for making bombs that maimed or killed his targets. He used household supplies that were easily obtained, but highly damaging. He used deer-hoof epoxy and hand-carved hickory switches. These bombs transformed from crude, primitive devices to advanced killing machines. His victims often were seriously injured.

Rambling about how technology will lead to the downfall of society, he wrote many letters to his brother, David. Eventually, he was identified by the way he wrote in his “manifesto” by his brother. An FBI team led by James R. Fitzgerald scoured Ted’s old letters and the manifesto. In there, they found over 600 distinctive phrases and spelling similarities.

On April 6th, 1996, a group of FBI officers surrounded the cabin where Ted lived. A detachment of three operatives knocked on the Unabomber’s door, pretending to be land surveyors. Moments later, the Unabomber was finally arrested.

Sent to solitary confinement in Supermax, Ted the Unabomber kept himself busy donating some of his hate mail, as well as his conversations with fans to a special collection at the University of Michigan Library. When he was interviewed by Times Magazine, he was told anarchists viewed him as a hero. “A lot of these people are just irrational.”