The Pioneers

Hofmann, Huxley, Osmond, Wasson, Leary, Ram Dass, Shulgin, McKenna, Griffiths, Doblin, Pollan — the chemists, writers and researchers who mapped the territory.

Part of Psychedelics

49 moments in this segment.

1. 1954-06-01 — Aldous Huxley (1954). Aldous Huxley, author of The Doors of Perception (1954).
2. 1954-06-01 — Aldous Huxley (1954). Aldous Huxley, author of The Doors of Perception (1954).
3. 1954-06-01 — Aldous Huxley (1954). Aldous Huxley, author of The Doors of Perception (1954).
4. 1955-01-01 — British Politician Christopher Mayhew in Humphry Osmond's Mescaline Experiment (1955). British Politician Christopher Mayhew in Humphry Osmond's Mescaline Experiment — Humphry Osmond, who coined the word "psychedelic".
5. 1957-05-13 — The Mushroom Man - Documentary on Gordon Wasson & Sacred Fungi. The banker-mycologist whose 1957 LIFE magazine article "Seeking the Magic Mushroom" introduced psilocybin to the American public.
6. 1957-05-13 — R. Gordon Wasson - The Hallucinogenic Fungi of Mexico - Lecture. Gordon Wasson, who brought the magic mushroom to America.
7. 1957-05-13 — Robert Forte: The Records of Gordon Wasson & the Origins of the Psychedelic Movement. Gordon Wasson, who brought the magic mushroom to America.
8. 1958-01-01 — Aldous Huxley's Psychedelic Experience. Aldous Huxley, author of The Doors of Perception.
9. 1961-01-01 — Aldous Huxley on Mescaline - Interview (1961). Aldous Huxley on Mescaline - Interview — The novelist whose 1954 mescaline memoir The Doors of Perception gave the West its language for the psychedelic experience.
10. 1962-01-01 — Leary, Alpert & The Harvard Psilocybin Project. Timothy Leary, the Harvard psychologist turned psychedelic prophet.
11. 1965 — Humphry Osmond (1960). Humphry Osmond, who coined the word "psychedelic" (1960). This photograph dates from 1965.
12. 1966-01-01 — Dr. Timothy Leary - Interview on LSD (1966). Dr. Timothy Leary - Interview on LSD — Timothy Leary, the Harvard psychologist turned psychedelic prophet.
13. 1966-01-01 — Dr. Timothy Leary, Harvard 1966: LSD - Methods of Control. The Harvard psychologist turned counterculture prophet — "turn on, tune in, drop out" — whom Nixon called "the most dangerous man in America".
14. 1970-01-01 — Ram Dass - The Practice of Being Here Now. Richard Alpert, fired from Harvard alongside Leary, who went to India and returned as Ram Dass, author of Be Here Now.
15. 1970-06-01 — Timothy Leary (1970). Timothy Leary, the Harvard psychologist turned psychedelic prophet (1970).
16. 1971-01-01 — Becoming Ram Dass - Full Lecture. Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), the Harvard-professor-turned-guru.
17. 1980-01-01 — John Bleibtreu and Humphry Osmond Interview. The psychiatrist who coined the word "psychedelic" in 1957 and gave Aldous Huxley his first mescaline.
18. 1982-01-01 — The Abyss: Terence McKenna - Full Lecture (1982). The Abyss: Terence McKenna - Full Lecture — Terence McKenna, the psychedelic bard.
19. 1983-01-01 — An Evening with Albert Hofmann (1983), interviewed by Will Nofke. Albert Hofmann, who discovered LSD.
20. 1984-01-01 — Stanislav Grof on LSD Psychotherapy: Live Talk at Esalen. (1984).
21. 1991 — Timothy Leary (1970). Timothy Leary, the Harvard psychologist turned psychedelic prophet (1970). This photograph dates from 1991.
22. 1993-01-01 — Terence McKenna - Sacred Plants as Guides (Part 1). ) — Terence McKenna, the psychedelic bard.
23. 1993-01-01 — Albert Hofmann Interview (1993): The Effects of LSD | SRF Archiv. Albert Hofmann Interview (1993): The Effects of LSD — Albert Hofmann, who discovered LSD.
24. 1993-01-01 — Dr. Humphry Osmond - 50 Years of LSD. Humphry Osmond, who coined the word "psychedelic".
25. 1995-01-01 — Alexander Shulgin, 1995: His Lab Near San Francisco. The chemist who resynthesised MDMA and invented hundreds of psychedelics in his backyard lab, documenting each in PiHKAL and TiHKAL.
26. 1995-06-01 — Alexander Shulgin (1995). Alexander Shulgin, the chemist who reinvented MDMA (1995).
27. 1995-06-01 — Alexander Shulgin (1995). Alexander Shulgin, the chemist who reinvented MDMA (1995).
28. 1999 — Terence McKenna (1994). The ethnobotanist and spellbinding lecturer who championed psilocybin, DMT and the "stoned ape" theory of human consciousness. This photograph dates from 1999.
29. 2002-01-01 — Hofmann's Potion - Albert Hofmann LSD Documentary. Albert Hofmann, who discovered LSD.
30. 2006-01-11 — Albert Hofmann's 100 Years - Closing Speech in Basel. Albert Hofmann, who discovered LSD.
31. 2006-01-11 — Albert Hofmann 100th Birthday, Basel. The Swiss chemist who first synthesised LSD at Sandoz in 1938 and, on 19 April 1943, took the first deliberate dose and rode his bicycle home into history.
32. 2008 — R. Gordon Wasson (1957). Gordon Wasson, who brought the magic mushroom to America (1957). The subject dates from 1957; this photograph was taken in 2008.
33. 2010 — Alexander Shulgin (1995). Alexander Shulgin, the chemist who reinvented MDMA (1995). The subject dates from 1995; this photograph was taken in 2010.
34. 2010 — Alexander Shulgin (1995). Alexander Shulgin, the chemist who reinvented MDMA (1995). The subject dates from 1995; this photograph was taken in 2010.
35. 2015 — Terence McKenna (1994). Terence McKenna, the psychedelic bard (1994). The subject dates from 1994; this photograph was taken in 2015.
36. 2015 — Terence McKenna (1994). Terence McKenna, the psychedelic bard (1994). The subject dates from 1994; this photograph was taken in 2015.
37. 2015-08-11 — Dr. Rick Strassman Discusses DMT: The Spirit Molecule and His Research. Rick Strassman, who studied "the spirit molecule".
38. 2017-04-26 — Stanislav Grof: Psychedelics and the Future of Humanity | MAPS. Stanislav Grof: Psychedelics and the Future of Humanity (2017).
39. 2018-05-15 — How to Change Your Mind: Michael Pollan in Conversation with Dacher Keltner. Michael Pollan, whose book reopened the conversation.
40. 2018-05-18 — Michael Pollan on the Healing Power of Psychedelics | TIME. Michael Pollan on the Healing Power of Psychedelics — The writer whose 2018 bestseller How to Change Your Mind carried the psychedelic renaissance into the mainstream.
41. 2018-06-01 — Michael Pollan (2018). Michael Pollan, whose book reopened the conversation (2018).
42. 2018-06-01 — Michael Pollan (2018). Michael Pollan, whose book reopened the conversation (2018).
43. 2018-11-26 — Michael Pollan - Psychedelics and How to Change Your Mind | Bioneers. Michael Pollan - Psychedelics and How to Change Your Mind — Michael Pollan, whose book reopened the conversation.
44. 2019-10-30 — Researching Psychedelics and DMT with Rick Strassman. The psychiatrist whose 1990s DMT studies — "the spirit molecule" — were the first US human psychedelic trials in a generation.
45. 2024-01-19 — Erika Dyck: Psychedelic Prophets - The Letters of Aldous Huxley and Humphry Osmond. (2024).
46. 2024-02-21 — The Queen of Psychedelics - Amanda Feilding | Beckley Foundation. The Queen of Psychedelics - Amanda Feilding (2024).
47. 2024 — Ram Dass (1971). Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), the Harvard-professor-turned-guru (1971). The subject dates from 1971; this photograph was taken in 2024.
48. 2024 — Ram Dass (1971). Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), the Harvard-professor-turned-guru (1971). The subject dates from 1971; this photograph was taken in 2024.
49. 2024 — Ram Dass (1971). Ram Dass (Richard Alpert), the Harvard-professor-turned-guru (1971). The subject dates from 1971; this photograph was taken in 2024.