Before that chemists working in the United States had already identified an active ingredient, lysergic acid. Hofmann was interested in modifying its molecular skeleton to make other useful pharmaceuticals.
He consumed it for the first time accidentally in 1943 and reported seeing a continuous stream of pictures, extraordinary shapes and an intense kaleidoscopes of colors. Three days later on April 19, he intentionally replicated the experience by ingesting 250 micrograms of LSD.
Hoffman was born in Baden, Switzerland on January 11, 1906. After receiving his doctorate in medical chemistry from the University of Zurich in 1929, he went on to a long and successful career as the director of research at Sandoz Pharmaceutical in Basel.
He died on April 29, 2008 near Basel, Switzerland, following heart attack.
Albert Hofmann
