Albert Hofmann was a Swiss chemist known for being the first to synthesize, ingest, and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide.
18 Facts About Albert Hofmann
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Albert Hofmann authored more than 100 scientific articles and numerous books, including LSD: Mein Sorgenkind.
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Albert Hofmann was born in Baden, Switzerland, on 11 January 1906.
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Albert Hofmann was the first of four children to factory toolmaker Adolf Hofmann and Elisabeth and was baptized Protestant.
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When his father became ill, Albert Hofmann obtained a position as a commercial apprentice in concurrence with his studies.
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At age 20, Albert Hofmann began his chemistry degree at the University of Zurich, finishing three years later, in 1929.
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Albert Hofmann began studying the medicinal plant and the fungus ergot as part of a program to purify and synthesize active constituents for use as pharmaceuticals.
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Three days later, on 19 April 1943, Albert Hofmann intentionally ingested 250 micrograms of LSD, which he thought would represent a prudently safe, small amount, but was in fact a significantly powerful dose.
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Albert Hofmann continued to take small doses of LSD throughout his life, and always hoped to find a use for it.
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Albert Hofmann first synthesized 4-AcO-DET in 1958 in the Sandoz lab.
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Albert Hofmann became director of Sandoz's natural products department and continued studying hallucinogenic substances found in Mexican mushrooms and other plants used by aboriginal people there.
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Albert Hofmann became interested in the seeds of the Mexican morning glory species, called by natives.
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Albert Hofmann was surprised to find the active compound of, ergine, to be closely related to LSD.
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Albert Hofmann was able to obtain samples of it, but never succeeded in identifying its active compound, which has since been identified as salvinorin A In 1963, Hofmann attended the annual convention of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences in Stockholm.
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Albert Hofmann conceded that it could be dangerous if misused, because a relatively high dose of 500 micrograms has an extremely powerful psychoactive effect, especially if administered to a first-time user without adequate supervision.
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Albert Hofmann was a longtime friend and correspondent of German author and entomologist Ernst Junger, whom he met in 1949.
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Albert Hofmann gave his archives to the Albert Hofmann Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit, but the documents mostly sat in storage for years.
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Albert Hofmann died at the age of 102 from a heart attack, on 29 April, 2008, in Switzerland.