Silas Bissell (April 27, 1942 – June 15, 2002
) was an American activist. He joined
The Weatherman movement for a brief time before going underground after planting a bomb at the
University of Washington's ROTC building.
Bissell was arrested after 17 years of being underground and served 18 months in jail.
Early life
Silas Trim Bissell was born April 27, 1942.
Bissell’s father, Wadsworth, was the grandson of the founder of the
Bissell carpet sweeper company. Silas’ mother, Hillary Nelle Rarden, was a Marxist-civil rights activist and encouraged her son to be the same.
["Silas Trim Bissell, 60, Longtime Antiwar Fugitive." ''New York Times'', 25 June 2002, Print.]
Bissell went to the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, where he was awarded three Hopwood Awards for poetry. He fell in love with Judith Emily Siff, a New Yorker and they later married.
He was arrested during his senior year of high school for taking part in a sit-in.
["Woo, Elaine. "Portrait of the Artist as a Complex Man." ''The Los Angeles Times'', 23 June] Bissell graduated with a bachelor's degree in English literature in 1964 and then went to
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
and graduated with a master's degree in creative writing in 1965.
When
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, a ...
and
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
were assassinated and activists stormed Chicago during the
1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B.