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."
