Albert Hofmann

Biographical Information
"Dr Albert Hofmann died in 2008 aged 102. The philosopher-chemist would have been a remarkable man even if he hadn’t discovered the chemical compound that changed the course of the 20th century – LSD. Voted the greatest living genius in a 2007 poll, the self-described ‘little Swiss chemist’ was as much loved and respected for his personal nobility and modesty as he was for his chemical creations, which besides LSD, included chemicals used every day in maternity and geriatric wards the world over."

The book Hofmann’s Elixir "collects, for the first time, a number of his later essays and lectures. Between them they present a comprehensive overview of Hofmann’s relationship to his controversial creation, and reveal his profound mystical outlook, informed both by his own LSD experiences, and by a life lived through one of the most turbulent centuries in human history.

"The second section contains essays and memoirs from some of the world’s leading psychedelic thinkers, including Huston Smith, Myron Stolaroff, Ralph Metzner, Jonathan Ott, Stanislav Grof and Amanda Feilding."

He has published more than 100 articles in professional journals and several books, including Die Mutterkornalkaloide, LSD-My Problem Child, Insight-Outlook, The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens, Plants of the Gods with Richard E. Schultes, and The Road to Eleusis with R. Gordon Wasson and C.A.P. Ruck. He is a Fellow Member of the World Academy of Art and science, Honorary Member of the American Society of Pharmacognosy, and Honorary Member of the Society for Medicinal Plant Research.


 * Founding Board member, Beckley Foundation

Related Sourcewatch

 * Albert Hoffman Foundation