Sam Melville

Samuel Melville
Born
Samuel Joseph Grossman

1934
New York City, US
DiedSeptember 13, 1971 (aged 3637)
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
Occupationdraftsman
SpouseRuth
Parent(s)Dorothy and William
Criminal chargeconspiracy, explosives
Penalty18 years in prison

Samuel Joseph Melville (born Samuel Joseph Grossman, 1934 – September 13, 1971), was an American left-wing activist and terrorist who was the principal conspirator and bomb setter in the 1969 bombings of eight government and commercial office buildings in New York City. Melville cited his opposition to the Vietnam War and U.S. imperialism as the motivation for the bombings. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to bombing the Federal Office Building in lower Manhattan, as well as to assaulting a marshal in a failed escape attempt. A key figure in the 1971 Attica Prison riots, he was shot by the police and killed when the uprising was put down by force.