Hallucinogenic effects of LSD discovered 1943
In Basel, Switzerland, Albert Hoffman, a Swiss chemist working
at the Sandoz pharmaceutical research laboratory, accidentally consumes
LSD-25, a synthetic drug he had created in 1938 as part of his research
into the medicinal value of lysergic acid compounds. After taking the
drug, formally known as lysergic acid diethylamide, Dr. Hoffman was
disturbed by unusual sensations and hallucinations. In his notes, he
related the experience:
“Last Friday, April 16, 1943, I was forced to interrupt my work in
the laboratory in the middle of the afternoon and proceed home, being
affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness.
At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant, intoxicated-like
condition characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a
dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be
unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic
pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of
colors. After some two hours this condition faded away.”
After intentionally taking the drug again to confirm that it had
caused this strange physical and mental state, Dr. Hoffman published a
report announcing his discovery, and so LSD made its entry into the
world as a hallucinogenic drug. Widespread use of the so-called
“mind-expanding” drug did not begin until the 1960s, when counterculture
figures such as Albert M. Hubbard, Timothy Leary, and Ken Kesey
publicly expounded on the benefits of using LSD as a recreational drug.
The manufacture, sale, possession, and use of LSD, known to cause
negative reactions in some of those who take it, were made illegal in
the United States in 1965.
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Civil War
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Cold War
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Crime
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Disaster
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General Interest
- 1917 Lenin returns
- 1947 Texas City explodes
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Hollywood
- 1889 Charlie Chaplin born
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Literary
- 1922 Kingsley Amis is born
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Music
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Old West
- 1881 Bat Masterson’s last shootout
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Presidential
- 1789 Washington leaves Mt. Vernon for his inauguration
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Sports
- 1940 Bob Feller throws no-hitter
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Vietnam War
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World War I
- 1917 Lenin returns to Russia from exile
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World War II
- 1897 Frederick William Winterbotham, one of Britain’s top code breakers, is born
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