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Albert Hofmann

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born

January 11, 1906 in Baden, Switzerland

died

April 29, 2008

genre

Science

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Albert Hofmann (January 11, 1906 – April 29, 2008)was a Swiss scientist known best for being the first person to synthesize, ingest and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). He authored more than 100 scientific articles and a number of books, including "LSD: My Problem Child."

Discovery of LSD:
Hofmann became an employee of the pharmaceutical-chemical department of Sandoz Laboratories (now Novartis), located in Basel as a co-worker with professor Jordan Jake, founder and director of the pharmaceutical department. He began studying the medicinal plant squill and the fungus ergot as part of a program to purify and synthesize active constituents for use as pharmaceuticals. His main contribution was to elucidate th...more Albert Hofmann (January 11, 1906 – April 29, 2008)was a Swiss scientist known best for being the first person to synthesize, ingest and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). He authored more than 100 scientific articles and a number of books, including "LSD: My Problem Child."

Discovery of LSD:
Hofmann became an employee of the pharmaceutical-chemical department of Sandoz Laboratories (now Novartis), located in Basel as a co-worker with professor Jordan Jake, founder and director of the pharmaceutical department. He began studying the medicinal plant squill and the fungus ergot as part of a program to purify and synthesize active constituents for use as pharmaceuticals. His main contribution was to elucidate the chemical structure of the common nucleus of Scilla glycosides (an active principal of Mediterranean Squill). While researching lysergic acid derivatives, Hofmann first synthesized LSD on November 16, 1938. The main intention of the synthesis was to obtain a respiratory and circulatory stimulant (an analeptic) with no effects on the uterus in analogy to nikethamide (which is also a diethyl amide) by introducing this moiety to lysergic acid. It was set aside for five years, until April 19, 1943, when Hofmann decided to reexamine it. While re-synthesizing LSD, he accidentally absorbed a small quantity through his fingertips and serendipitously discovered its powerful effects.

Further research:
Hofmann became director of the natural products department at Sandoz and continued studying hallucinogenic substances found in Mexican mushrooms and other plants used by the aboriginal people. This led to the synthesis of psilocybin, the active agent of many "magic mushrooms." Hofmann also became interested in the seeds of the Mexican morning glory species Rivea corymbosa, the seeds of which are called Ololiuhqui by the natives. He was surprised to find the active compound of Ololiuhqui, ergine (lysergic acid amide), to be closely related to LSD.

In 1962, he and his wife Anita Hofmann (born Guanella) traveled to southern Mexico to search for the plant "Ska Maria Pastora" (Leaves of Mary the Shepherdess), later known as Salvia divinorum. He was able to obtain samples of this plant but never succeeded in identifying its active compound which has since been identified as the diterpenoid Salvinorin A.
In 1963, Hofmann attended the annual convention of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences (WAAS) in Stockholm.

Hofmann called LSD "medicine for the soul" and was frustrated by the worldwide prohibition of it. "It was used very successfully for 10 years in psychoanalysis," he said, adding that the drug was misused by the Counterculture of the 1960s and then criticized unfairly by the establishment. Because LSD is such a powerful compound, he conceded that it could be dangerous if misused.

In December 2007, Swiss medical authorities permitted a psychotherapist to perform psychotherapeutic experiments with patients who suffer from terminal stage cancer and other deadly diseases. Although not yet started, these experiments will represent the first study of the therapeutic effects of LSD for humans in 35 years, as other studies have focused on the drug's effects on consciousness and body. Hofmann acclaimed the study, and continued to say he believed in the therapeutic benefits of LSD.

Hofmann died of natural causes on April 29, 2008, in the village of Burg im Leimental, near Basel, Switzerland. He was 102 years old
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Books by Albert Hofmann

Average rating: 4.17 · 502 ratings · 50 reviews · 26 distinct works

	LSD: My Problem Child 4.05 avg rating — 230 ratings — published 2005 — 11 editions	My rating:
	Insight Outlook 4.11 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 1985 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Hofmann's Elixir: Lsd And The New Eleusis 3.67 avg rating — 3 ratings	My rating:
	L.S.D.: Entretiens Avec Albert Hofmann by Albert Hofmann, Franco Volpi 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2004	My rating:
	I misteri di Eleusi 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1993	My rating:
	Percezioni di realtà by Albert Hofmann, Roberto Fedeli (Translator) 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1986	My rating:
	Viaggi acidi by Albert Hofmann, Pino Corrias (Translator) 2.50 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 1992	My rating:
	The Physics of Synchrotron Radiation 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2004 — 2 editions	My rating:
	La Historia Del LSD. Cómo Descubrí El ácido Y Qué Pasó Después en El Mundo 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2006	My rating:
	LSD My Problem Child 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2012	My rating:

More books by Albert Hofmann…

Quotes by Albert Hofmann

“I was completely astonished by the beauty of nature. Our eyes see just a small fraction of the light in the world. It is a trick to make a colored world, which does not exist outside of human beings.”
― Albert Hofmann

tags: human-nature , nature , seeing

3 people liked it

“I think that in human evolution it has never been as necessary to have this substance LSD. It is just a tool to turn us into what we are supposed to be.”
― Albert Hofmann

tags: being , evolution , lsd , narcotics

0 people liked it

“I suddenly became strangely inebriated. The external world
became changed as in a dream. Objects appeared to gain inrelief;
they assumed unusual dimensions; and colors became more glowing.
Even self-perception and the sense of time were changed. When the
eyes were closed, colored pictures flashed past in a quickly changing
kaleidoscope. After a few hours, the not unpleasant inebriation,
which had been experienced whilst I was fully conscious, disappeared.
what had caused this condition?”
― Albert Hofmann