Tom Hayden, famed anti-Vietnam War activist, dies

CNN and AP Wire stories - Tom Hayden, a peace activist whose radical views helped spur the 1960s anti-Vietnam War movement, has died.

Barbara Williams, Hayden's wife, told CNN that her husband died Sunday night at UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica.

Hayden, a longtime activist who served nearly two decades as a California state lawmaker, died from complications related to a stroke he had suffered a year-and-a-half ago, Williams said. He was 76.

"A political giant and dear friend has passed," Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted. "Tom Hayden fought harder for what he believed than just about anyone I have known."

Hayden made headlines in the 1960s with his radical activism, his marriage to actress Jane Fonda and his trips to North Vietnam during the Vietnam war.

But he changed paths, winning election to the California Assembly and state Senate where he served for nearly two decades. He was the only member of the radical Chicago 8 (also known as the Chicago 7) to achieve such distinction in the mainstream political world.

Hayden remained an enduring voice for progressive causes, including education and the environment. He wrote many books, among them a memoir and a retrospective look at the Chicago 8.