Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
Two teenagers whose 1999 attack on Columbine High School tragically reshaped the American consciousness around violence, security, and adolescent alienation.
1981–1999 (age 18)·American mass murderers·Birthday: September 11·Millennials
Biography
Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were not obvious monsters to their suburban Colorado community; they were students who played in the school band and worked part-time jobs. Beneath that surface, however, festered a profound resentment and a detailed, shared fantasy of revenge. On April 20, 1999, they transformed that fantasy into a horrifying reality. Armed with firearms and homemade bombs, they entered Columbine High School, killing 12 students and a teacher before taking their own lives. The attack was not the first school shooting, but its scale, the perpetrators' meticulous planning documented in journals and videos, and the relentless 24-hour media coverage seared it into the national psyche. Columbine became a dark cultural inflection point, triggering endless debates about bullying, gun laws, goth culture, and violent media. It ushered in an era of lockdown drills and school resource officers, and its notoriety unfortunately inspired a lineage of subsequent attackers. Harris and Klebold's legacy is a painful, enduring question mark on the fabric of American life.
Millennials
1981–1996
The first digital natives. Grew up with the internet, came of age during 9/11 and the 2008 crash. Highly educated, deeply indebted, slower to marry and buy houses. Redefined work, identity, and what it means to be an adult.
Eric was born in 1981, placing them squarely in the Millennials. The events that shaped this generation — the internet revolution, 9/11, and the 2008 financial crisis — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Eric Was Born
The biggest hits of 1981
#1 Movie
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Best Picture
Chariots of Fire
#1 TV Show
Dallas
Eric's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1981Born
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1986Started school
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1994Became a teenager
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
1997Could drive
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
1999Could vote
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
Did You Know?
They made a series of homemade videotapes, now known as the 'Basement Tapes,' detailing their plans and motivations.
Dylan Klebold went to his senior prom just three days before the massacre.
The attack initially involved failed propane bomb rigs in the cafeteria intended to cause far greater casualties.
“We're going to kick-start a revolution.”
