The Resume

(June 13, 1939-July 13, 2022)
Chemist and anti-war activist
Member of the Chicago Seven
Charged with conspiracy to incite a riot and teaching demonstrators how to construct incendiary devices
Found not guilty of both charges, but was sentenced to 6 months in jail for contempt of court
Contempt convictions reversed on appeal
Participated in the May Day Protests to try to shut down the federal government by blocking the streets of Washington, DC (May 1, 1971)
Vermont State Director of Occupational Health (1974-77)
Director for Toxic Substances at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (1977-81)
Professor of Environmental Sciences at UCLA (1981-2011)
Chaired the California Scientific Review Panel on Toxic Air Contaminants (1998-2013)

Why he might be annoying:

He initially felt guilty about being acquitted at the Chicago Seven trial: ‘I felt I had betrayed them [the other defendants].”
While working at OSHA, he regularly commuted over one of the bridges he had tried to shut down during the 1971 May Day protests.
He said about his time as an anti-war activist, ‘In those days, we were impatient, arrogant and lacked humility.’

Why he might not be annoying:

Vermont Governor Thomas Salmon, who had initially opposed Froines being appointed to a government position, hailed him as ‘an exemplary public servant.’
At OSHA, he developed federal standards for exposure to lead and cotton dust.
He said, ‘Nobody’s a student activist at 50. You’d have to have your head examined.’

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20th Century Scientists
• 21st Century Scientists
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 63]
• Chicago Seven
• I Attended University of California, Berkeley
• I Attended Yale
• I Died in 2022 (Ranked: 83)
• I Earned a Doctorate
• People with John or Mary in their Names
• Profiles 38251-38500 (Ranked: 38368)
• Scientists
• We Died on the Same Day (Ranked: 20220713)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 61 Votes: 59.02% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 27 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 71 Votes: 42.25% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 20 Votes: 65.00% Annoying