Abbott “Abbie” Hoffman was a US left-wing political activist, and founder of the Yippies (Youth International Party), a political offshoot of the hippies.
He was also a member of the Chicago Seven, a radical group tried for attempting to disrupt the 1968 Democratic Convention.
Hoffman was arrested 52 times and was a fugitive from justice between 1973 and 1980. He specialised in imaginative political gestures to gain media attention, for example throwing dollar bills to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 1967.
He also campaigned against the Vietnam War and, later, for the environment. His books include Revolution for the Hell of It (1969).
Hoffman interrupted a live performance by The Who at Woodstock in 1969 by walking on to the stage, grabbing a microphone and attempting to speak against the jailing of John Sinclair of the White Panther Party.
Guitarist Pete Townshend ran at him and rammed his guitar into his back, screaming “Fuck off! Fuck off my fucking stage” before shoving Hoffman in the face and pushing him backwards to the wings.
Abbie Hoffman was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1980 and committed suicide on 12 April 1989 by swallowing 150 Phenobarbital tablets.
His body was found in his Pennsylvania apartment, surrounded by hundreds of pages of handwritten rantings and notes.
