Samuel Byck

Samuel Joseph Byck (January 30, 1930 – February 22, 1974) was an unemployed tire salesman who attempted to hijack a plane from Baltimore-Washington International Airport on February 22, 1974. He intended to crash into the White House in hopes of killing U.S. President Richard M. Nixon.

Byck's life

Born to poor but hard-working Jewish parents in Philadelphia, Byck dropped out of high school. He enlisted in the US Army in 1954 and was honorably discharged in 1956. Byck married and had four children, but he experienced a number of business failures and spent two months in a psychiatric hospital being treated for depression. He began to believe that the government was conspiring to oppress the poor. The Secret Service considered Byck to be harmless.

Related Topics:
Jewish - Philadelphia - High school - US Army - 1954 - Honorably discharged - 1956 - Depression - Secret Service

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Byck first came to the notice of the Secret Service in 1972, when he threatened Nixon, whom he had resented ever since the Small Business Administration had turned him down for a loan. Byck had also sent bizarre tape recordings to various other public figures including Jonas Salk, Abraham Ribicoff, and Leonard Bernstein. He once even tried to join the Black Panthers.

Related Topics:
1972 - Small Business Administration - Jonas Salk - Abraham Ribicoff - Leonard Bernstein - Black Panthers

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