Atta, Mohamed (1968–2001)

Mohamed Atta was one of the men who hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and crashed it into the north tower of New York City's World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, in the first in a series of attacks that left approximately 3,000 people dead, including the 19 hijackers. Information about Atta is somewhat sketchy, but he is believed to have been one the ringleaders, if not the primary leader, of the September 11 attacks.

Atta was born in 1968 to a relatively well-to-do family in Egypt. He grew up in Cairo, where his father was a lawyer. His family was Muslim but not especially conservative; his sisters attended college and worked. Atta studied architecture and engineering at Cairo University, receiving his degree in 1990.

After graduating, Atta obtained a job, but his father felt that Atta's career would be helped if ...