Albert Hofmann (January 11, 1906 – April 29, 2008) was a Swiss scientist best known for having been the first to synthesize, ingest and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Hofmann authored more than 100 scientific articles and wrote a number of books, including LSD: My Problem Child. On January 11, 2006, Hofmann became a centenarian, and the occasion of his 100th birthday was the focus of an
international symposium on LSD.
Hofmann knew he had indeed made a significant discovery after the first LSD trip, which during, he rode his bike home.
A psychoactive substance with
extraordinary potency, capable of causing paradigm shifts of consciousness in incredibly low doses, Hofmann foresaw the drug as a powerful psychiatric tool; due to its intense and
introspective nature, he couldn’t imagine anyone using it recreationally.
Hoffman always expressed his disappointment with LSD eventually being criminalised, saying the drug had the potential to deal with
psychological problems caused by "materialism, alienation from nature through industrialisation and increasing urbanisation, lack of satisfaction in professional employment in a mechanised, lifeless working world, ennui and purposelessness in wealthy, saturated society, and lack of a religious, nurturing, and meaningful
philosophical foundation of life"
He will always be remembered, loved, and respected by a much larger group of people than just the psychedelic community. Despite the controversy, Hoffman became a celebrated figure in the scientific community, and in his retirement served as a member of the Nobel Prize Committee as well as being a Fellow of the World Academy of Sciences.
In 1988 the Albert Hoffman Foundation was created "to assemble and maintain an
international library and archive devoted to the study of human consciousness and related fields."
