Earth Day, the annual event focused on climate change and environmental action, can be traced to a charismatic founder with a secret dark side.
Held on April 22, Earth Day celebrates “the birth of the modern environmental movement,” which began in 1970 in the United States and has since grown into a global movement.
Supporters use the day to raise awareness of climate-related issues, encouraging consumers to change their behavior and urging governments to enact regulations in the name of protecting the planet. In many respects, the movement has achieved significant success.
In 1970, the first Earth Day led to a wave of legislation, including the creation of the sprawling Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is tasked with enforcing federal environmental laws and setting national policies and regulations from Washington.
Ira Einhorn, a self-proclaimed environmental activist, was the master of ceremonies at the first Earth Day rally on April 22, 1970, according to NBC News. Nine years later, police raided his apartment and found the “composted” body of his ex-girlfriend.
Einhorn gained attention among environmental circles in the 1960s and ’70s by embracing the persona of a tie-dye-wearing “ecological guru” and Philadelphia’s “head hippie,” according to NBC News. Einhorn, who had a long beard and gap-toothed smile, called himself “Unicorn” and promoted a message of “peace and free love” while studying at the University of Pennsylvania.
The “charismatic and flamboyant personality” also claimed to have played a pivotal role in founding Earth Day, according to the New York Times.
But Einhorn appeared to unravel after his girlfriend of five years ended their relationship and moved to New York.
On Sept. 9, 1977, Holly Maddux returned to the Philadelphia apartment she had shared with Einhorn to retrieve her belongings and was never seen again.
Einhorn told investigators that Maddux left the apartment to buy some tofu and sprouts but never returned, according to NBC News. About 18 months later, police searched his apartment after a neighbor complained of a “reddish-brown, foul-smelling liquid” leaking from the ceiling.
Inside a closet, authorities found Maddux’s dead body concealed in a trunk that was also packed with Styrofoam, air fresheners, and newspapers. Her remains were partially mummified, NBC News reported in 2011.
After evading authorities for more than two decades, Einhorn was extradited to the United States to stand trial. NBC reported that Einhorn claimed CIA agents were responsible for killing his ex-girlfriend, and said they’d framed him for knowing too much about classified “paranormal military research.”
He was convicted of the charges and sentenced to life in prison without parole. In 2020, Einhorn died in prison at the age of 79.
“The chapter is finally, for real, closed,” Elizabeth Hall, one of Ms. Maddux’s sisters, told The Philadelphia Inquirer at the time. “I think a lot of people in Philadelphia were waiting to hear that he had died. He became part of the city’s consciousness in an ugly way.”
Since the salacious scandal, Earth Day’s organizers have sought to separate themselves from Einhorn’s activism and roots in the movement. Many, including the official EPA website, cite former Wisconsin Governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as Earth Day’s official founder and organizer.
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