Robert Fassnacht Explained

Robert Fassnacht
Birth Date:14 January 1937
Birth Place:South Bend, Indiana, U.S.
Death Place:Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Death Cause:Bomb explosion
Occupation:Physics researcher
Spouse:Stephanie Fassnacht
Parents:Walter Fassnacht[1]
Children:Christopher, Heidi and Karin
Alma Mater:Kalamazoo College
University of Wisconsin–Madison

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.

Bombing

On the night of August 23 and into the early morning hours of August 24, 1970, Fassnacht was in the lab taking care of unfinished work because he and his family were slated to leave for a vacation in San Diego, California. His lab was located in the basement of Sterling Hall. He was in the process of cooling down his dewar with liquid nitrogen when the explosion occurred. Rescuers found him face down in about a foot of water. The cause of death, determined from the autopsy, was internal trauma.

As a protest against the Vietnam War, the bomb was built and planted by Karleton "Karl" Armstrong, Dwight Armstrong, David Fine, and Leo Burt. The intention was to destroy the Army Mathematics Research Center, but instead destroyed much of the physics department and severely damaged neighboring buildings.[5]

After the bombing

Family

Fassnacht was survived by his wife, Stephanie, and their three children, a three-year-old son, Christopher, and twin daughters, Heidi and Karin who turned one a month after their father's death.[2] The family continued to live in Madison in relative quiet and anonymity for many decades after the explosion, often crossing paths with the site of their father/husband's murder.

Stephanie Fassnacht completed a long career at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, occupying an office just blocks from the site of her husband's death. She stated that she harbored "no ill will" toward Karl Armstrong "and never did."[6] Instead she held the Board of Regents responsible.[7] Christopher attended Harvard University and Caltech and is now a physics professor at the University of California at Davis.[8] Heidi and Karin both graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Commemorative plaque

On May 18, 2007, the University of Wisconsin–Madison unveiled a plaque on the side of Sterling Hall commemorating the bombing and Robert Fassnacht's death. The event was attended by John D. Wiley, then Chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an acquaintance of Robert Fassnacht, by current and former members of the Physics department, including chair Susan Coppersmith, and family and friends of Robert, including his daughters Heidi and Karin.[9] [10] [11]

The plaque reads:

This is the site of the Sterling Hall Bombing, which occurred at 3:40 AM on August 24, 1970. An outstanding research scientist, Dr. Robert Fassnacht, was killed in the bombing while working in his laboratory on a physics experiment studying a basic mechanism for superconductivity in metals. Three others were injured. Dr. Fassnacht was 33 years old, married, and had three young children.

Bibliography

Books and Resources

Notes and References

  1. http://www.madison.com/library/LEE/82875.pdf Fathers cope with sons' bomb death, jailing
  2. Dillinger, Joseph R.. Obituary: Robert E. Fassnacht. Physics Today. October 1970. 23. 10. 69. 10.1063/1.3021801 . free.
  3. Ziff. Deborah. Seely. Ron. Sterling Hall bombing: 40 years later, family members celebrate physicist's life. Wisconsin State Journal. 17 August 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20180825002905/https://madison.com/news/local/education/university/sterling-hall-bombing-years-later-family-members-celebrate-physicist-s/article_ba113d78-a980-11df-9db0-001cc4c03286.html. 25 August 2018. live. en. 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..
  4. http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/moe/index.php?ntid=3666&ntpid=2 Doug Moe: Chicago's other great columnist
  5. News: 30 years ago, bomb shattered UW campus. Durhams. Sharif. Maller. Peter. dead. 11 March 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070311011349/http://www2.jsonline.com/news/state/aug00/sterling20081900a.asp. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 19 August 2000. en.
  6. News: On Campus: Stephanie Fassnacht tells CBS: "no ill will" toward Karl Armstrong over Sterling Hall bombing. Ziff. Deborah. Wisconsin State Journal. 22 May 2012. 2018-09-29. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180930033530/https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/on_campus/on-campus-stephanie-fassnacht-tells-cbs-no-ill-will-toward/article_5bc1df9c-d24d-11e0-a588-001cc4c002e0.html. 30 September 2018. en. Fassnacht and her family have largely avoided the media in an effort to move on with their lives.
  7. Book: Bingham, Clara. Witness to the Revolution. April 2017. Random House Publishing Group. 9780812983265. 485.
  8. Web site: Christopher Fassnacht. UC Davis, Department of Physics. 14 November 2020. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20151113024154/http://physics.ucdavis.edu/people/faculty/christopher-fassnacht. 13 November 2015.
  9. http://www.madison.com/tct/archives/index.php?archAction=arch_read&a_from=search&a_file=%2Ftct%2F2007%2F05%2F19%2F0705190074.php&var_search=Search&keyword_field=Robert%20Fassnacht&pub_code_field=tct&from_date_field=&to_date_field=&var_start_pos=0&var_articles_per_page=10 Memorial Plaque Honors Fassnacht
  10. News: Fassnacht. Heidi. Reflections on Sterling Hall, a thank-you for opening your hearts. 2020-11-14. 24 August 2011. The Capital Times. https://web.archive.org/web/20201114065301/https://madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/heidi-fassnacht-reflections-on-sterling-hall-a-thank-you-for-opening-your-hearts/article_37095aef-fd68-5bab-87a5-68a68f4ef473.html. live. 14 November 2020. en.
  11. Web site: LaRoi. Heather. PLAQUE TO BE DEDICATED FOR 1970 STERLING HALL BOMBING. 2020-11-14. The Capital Times. 18 May 2007. en. https://web.archive.org/web/20201114065301/https://madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/heidi-fassnacht-reflections-on-sterling-hall-a-thank-you-for-opening-your-hearts/article_37095aef-fd68-5bab-87a5-68a68f4ef473.html. live. 14 November 2020.

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