Farewell of the Day: Aaron Swartz

Aaron Swartz, a computer programmer and Internet activist best known for his contributions to RSS 1.0, Reddit and Demand Progress, has passed away at age of 26. Found dead at his Crown Heights residence January 11, the cause of his death has been since identified as suicide by hanging. The tragic news came only months before his trial on felony hacking charges was set to begin, as Swartz had been indicted in July 2011 on federal charges of allegedly hacking into the academic paper subscription service JSTOR and downloading nearly all of its archives with intent to distribute them for free via file-sharing networks. In mourning his death, Anonymous has already launched a hacking campaign against M.I.T. websites.