On the night of August 24, 1970, a small group of anti-Vietnam radicals carried out the bombing of Sterling Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, in protest of the university’s research connections with the US military during the Vietnam War. The bombing resulted in the death of university research scientist Robert Fassnacht, injured three others, and caused significant destruction to the physics department and Sterling Hall. UW-Madison has shared materials related to this event with Project Stand, consisting primarily of 32 oral history interviews with university administrators, faculty, staff, and students, where they share recollections about the event itself as well as their reflections about its context in the turbulent protest period.
Image: Plaque honoring Robert Fassnacht, who was killed by the Sterling Hall bombing on August 24, 1970
Collection: Sterling Hall Bombing Collection
Dates: 1970
Url: https://www.library.wisc.edu/archives/exhibits/sterling-hall-bombing-of-1970/
Primary contact: Katie Nash (bio)