Ted Kaczynski, ‘Unabomber’ who attacked modern life, dies at 81

Theodore J. Kaczynski, the so-called Unabomber, who from 1978 to 1995 attacked academics, businessmen and random civilians with home-made bombs, killing three people and injuring 23 with the declared goal of bringing about the collapse of the modern social order — a violent spree that ended after what has often been described as the longest and most expensive manhunt in American history – died on Saturday. He turned 81.

A spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons said Mr. Kaczynski was found unconscious in his cell Saturday morning. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Mr. Kaczynski followed a path unique in American life: a lonely boy, a genius, a Harvard-educated star of pure math, a country recluse, a notorious murderer and an imprisoned extremist.

In the public eye, he brought together a rare mix of styles of violence: the periodic target of the demented serial killer and the ideological fanaticism of the terrorist.

A full obituary will be published shortly.