22 Facts About Alexander Shulgin

In 1991 and 1997, he and his wife Ann Alexander Shulgin compiled the books PiHKAL and TiHKAL, from notebooks that extensively described their work and personal experiences with these two classes of psychoactive drugs.

Alexander Shulgin documented the chemical synthesis of many of these compounds.

The early 2000s was a period where Alexander Shulgin was witness to a series of incidents in which young men overdosed on a novel psychoactive agent whose preparation was disclosed by Alexander Shulgin in one of his books.

Alexander Shulgin's father was born in Chelyabinsk, Russia; his mother was born in Illinois.

Alexander Shulgin studied organic chemistry at Harvard University as a scholarship student, and was enrolled there at the age of 16.

Alexander Shulgin dropped out to join the US Navy, during his second year at Harvard.

In late 1966, Alexander Shulgin left Dow in order to pursue his own interests.

Alexander Shulgin first spent two years studying neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, leaving to work on a consulting project.

Alexander Shulgin set up a home-based lab on his property, known as "the Farm", and became a private consultant.

Alexander Shulgin taught classes in the local universities and at the San Francisco General Hospital.

Alexander Shulgin set up a chemical synthesis laboratory in a small building behind his house, which gave him a great deal of career autonomy.

Alexander Shulgin used this freedom to synthesize and test the effects of potentially psychoactive drugs.

In 1976, Alexander Shulgin was introduced to MDMA by a student in the medicinal chemistry group he advised at San Francisco State University.

Alexander Shulgin went on to develop a new synthesis method, and in 1976, introduced the chemical to Leo Zeff, a psychologist from Oakland, California.

Alexander Shulgin personally tested hundreds of drugs, mainly analogues of various phenethylamines, and tryptamines.

Alexander Shulgin published many of these objective and subjective reports in his books and papers.

Alexander Shulgin was married to Nina Gordon until her death from a stroke in 1977.

Alexander Shulgin spent most of his later life at the Farm in Lafayette, California.

Around this time, Alexander Shulgin began showing early signs of dementia, mostly severe loss of short-term memory.

Alexander Shulgin died at his home on June 2,2014, at the age of 88.

Alexander Shulgin was a member of Mensa International and frequently attended Mensa events in California.

Alexander Shulgin refers to "The Owl Club" in chapter 11 of PiHKAL:.