William Luther Pierce III was an American physicist, neo-Nazi political activist, and author who became one of the most prominent figures of the white nationalist movement in the late twentieth century. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Pierce pursued a career in the sciences, earning a bachelor's degree in physics from Rice University in 1955 and a doctorate from the University of Colorado Boulder in 1962. He briefly worked in academia as an assistant professor of physics at Oregon State University before transitioning to the private sector as a senior researcher for the aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney.
In the mid-1960s, Pierce abandoned his scientific career to dedicate himself to political extremism. He moved to the Washington, D.C. area and became an associate of George Lincoln Rockwell, the founder of the American Nazi Party. Following Rockwell's assassination in 1967, Pierce's involvement grew; he co-led the National Youth Alliance, which eventually split, leading him to found the white nationalist organization National Alliance in 1974. He led this group for nearly three decades, eventually relocating its headquarters to Hillsboro, West Virginia, where he also established the Cosmotheist Community Church.
Under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald, Pierce authored two highly controversial novels that served as propaganda for his extremist ideology. His 1978 novel, The Turner Diaries, depicts a violent revolution in the United States that culminates in a global race war and the extermination of non-white populations. The book became notorious for inspiring real-world violence, including the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. His second novel, Hunter (1989), portrays the actions of a lone-wolf white supremacist assassin. In his later years, Pierce managed various media ventures from West Virginia, including the radio show American Dissident Voices, the National Vanguard magazine, and the white power music label Resistance Records.
