Important events concerning Timothy Leary:

Compiled by Colin Pringle

Oct, 22, 1920: Birth date of Leary, about 6 months older than Kerouac.

1938: LSD-25 first synthesized by Albert Hoffman at Sandoz Labs, Bazel Switzerland and tested on animals.

April 16, 1943: Second synthesis of LSD leads to accident and Hoffman experiences its psychedelic effect.
April 19, 1943: To further investigate the effects of LSD, Hoffman ingests 250 micrograms (gamma), a fairly strong dose. 1949: LSD research starts in the United States.

1954: Huxley's book The Doors of Perception published.
1955: R. Gorden Wasson discovers psilocybin mushrooms in Mexico and tries them.
1957: Wasson mushroom article appears in Life magazine (May 13). Kerouac's On the Road published, putting the Beat Generation in the lime light (Sept). Sputnik launched by the Russians (Oct.)
1958: Hoffman isolates psilocybin from the mushrooms, Alan Watts takes LSD for the first time.
1959: Novelist Ken Kesey (Menlo Park Hollister study at the V.A. hospital) and poet Allen Ginsberg (Mental Research Institute at Stanford University, Gregory Bateson study, mid-May) take LSD for the first time.

1960: Leary tries psilocybin mushrooms in Mexico, lands a job at Harvard, and starts psilocybin research project.
1961: Leary gives psilocybin to all the important members of the Beat Generation and asks them to write a report of their experiences.
1962: Leary takes LSD for the first time.
1963: Leary predicted that within 10 years, over a million people would have tried LSD. Harvard gives Leary and Alpert the boot. Sandoz patent runs out on LSD. Aldous Huxley died same day Kennedy shot, last request is for an injection of LSD (Nov 22).
1964: Ken Kesey and his Pranksters take to the road in the first Hippie school bus (although none of them had long hair or even beards at the time) and shoot first acid movie. Leary, Alpert and Metzner publish The Psychedelic Experience: A manual based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
1965: Leary busted for marijuana at the Mexico border. Kesey busted for grass. First article on the Hippies appears (Sept 6). The Pranksters hold their first acid tests. Sandoz stops production of LSD, but Owsley takes over production.
1966: LIFE estimated that over a million people had taken LSD (seven years sooner then Leary had predicted). Watts acid test causes major freak-outs when people drink electric kool-Aid they had no idea was dosed with LSD. (Feb 12). LSD horror stories flood the news media. LSD becomes illegal in California (Oct 6).
1967: Author experiences Summer of Love in San Francisco. Hippie and Haight-Ashbury become household words.
1968: Leary Publishes High Priest and The Politics of Ecstasy. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test (by Tom Wolfe) is published. LBJ forced out of running for a second term (Mar 31). Neal Cassady died (Feb 4).
1969: Leary's case goes to the Supreme Court, which rules Anslinger's marijuana tax act unconstitutional. First moon landing (July). Woodstock festival (Aug 15-17). Jack Kerouac died (Oct 21). Author takes LSD for the first time (Dec 14).

1970: Leary sentenced to 10 years on marijuana charge (Jan). Leary escapes and fleas to Europe (Sept).
1971: It was estimated that over 5 million Americans had used LSD (five times Leary's prediction).
1973: Leary captured and sent back to prison.
1974: Nixon forced out of office, reducing Leary's legal problems.
1976: Leary finally released from prison.

1983: Leary publishes Flashbacks: An Autobiography and his first computer program, Mind Mirror. Albert Hoffman publishes LSD: My Problem Child.

1990: Leary speaks at Highline Community College and here's my review.
May 31, 1996: Leary died.