Albert Hofmann accidentally invented LSD in 1938 — and years later, he became the first person to intentionally trip on acid when he took 250 micrograms of LSD and biked home while experiencing the drug's full psychedelic effects.
Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.5Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist who was the first to synthesize and ingest LSD.
Albert Hofmann, a Swiss chemist, discovered lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) while working at a chemistry laboratory in Switzerland in 1938, though its significance wasn’t realized until he accidentally ingested it in 1943. His background in plant chemistry led him to study the ergot fungus, of which he discovered how to synthesize the compound.
In 1943, Hofmann experienced his first LSD trip after unintentionally absorbing the substance, followed by a deliberate higher dose that caused intense hallucinations during a bicycle ride home. This event, now known as “Bicycle Day,” marked the beginning of LSD’s role in psychedelic research.
Hofmann’s discovery had a profound influence on the study of consciousness and psychedelic substances, leading the world to recognize his work every year on April 19, a date known as Bicycle Day. His work opened new avenues in science and culture, leaving a lasting legacy in both fields.
Early Life And Career Of Albert Hofmann
Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 deAlbert Hofmann in 2006.
Albert Hofmann was born on January 11, 1906 in Baden, Switzerland to Protestant parents Adolf and Elisabeth Hofmann. As a child, Hofmann was fascinated by the mystical. This developed into a strong drive to understand the world and the materials it is made of.
At 20 years old, Hofmann enrolled in the University of Zurich’s chemistry program with a focus on chemical processes in plants and animals. He later graduated the program in 1929, earning his PhD after researching chitin, a derivative of glucose.
Reflecting on his career choices at the 1996 Worlds of Consciousness Conference in Heidelberg, Germany, Hofmann stated:
“This [career] decision was not easy for me. I had already taken a Latin matricular exam, and therefore a career in the humanities stood out most prominently in the foreground. Moreover, an artistic career was tempting. In the end, however, it was a problem of theoretical knowledge which induced me to study chemistry, which was a great surprise to all who knew me.”
Upon graduating, Hofmann accepted a job at Sandoz Laboratories, a pharmaceutical-chemical research laboratory in Basel, Switzerland.
“What attracted me to this job was the research program undertaken by the laboratory director, Professor Arthur Stoll, on the advice of the famous Nobel Prize winner Professor Richard Willstutter; namely, the isolation and purification of the active principles of well-known medicinal plants, and their chemical modification,” Hofmann explained at the Worlds of Consciousness Conference.
In his new role, Hofmann made the fateful decision to study ergot, a fungus that commonly grows on grains. For nearly ten years, Hofmann studied this fungus and its derivatives, unknowingly drawing the world closer to the discovery of LSD.
Hofmann Learns The Full Effects Of LSD While Riding His Bike
Novartis Company ArchivesAlbert Hofmann holds a model of the LSD molecule.
On November 16, 1938, Hofmann successfully synthesized LSD from lysergic acid derivatives, the building blocks that make up ergot.
At the time, Hofmann wanted to develop a stimulant for the circulatory system without any impacts on the uterus of animals. He put together a circulatory stimulant and lysergic acid, creating Lysergsaure-diethylamid (LSD).
During animal testing, researchers noted that the drug evoked restlessness, but otherwise was uninteresting. The disappointing results led to the project taking a backseat for over five years.
Then, in 1943, Hofmann took a second look at the compound and accidentally ingested some himself.
“[I was] affected by a remarkable restlessness, combined with a slight dizziness. At home I lay down and sank into a not unpleasant intoxicated like condition, characterized by an extremely stimulated imagination. In a dreamlike state, with eyes closed (I found the daylight to be unpleasantly glaring), I perceived an uninterrupted stream of fantastic pictures, extraordinary shapes with intense, kaleidoscopic play of colors. After some two hours this condition faded away,” Hofmann explained.
Three days later, Hofmann decided to take another dose of acid intentionally. This time, the results were not so magical.
In a day known as Bicycle Day, Hofmann peddled home from his laboratory while experiencing the full effects of LSD.
Bicycle Day And Its Impacts On The Psychedelic Revolution
YouTubeA psychedelic painting of Albert Hofmann.
Dr. Hofmann describes his second trip in horrifying terms. After taking 250 micrograms of LSD, Hofmann reported seeing creatures moving around him and feeling as if dark entities were possessing him.
Though he wasn’t sure what to expect, Hofmann felt a visceral transition less than an hour after taking the drug, which included distortion, mixed with slight anxiety, as well as the desire to laugh. Hofmann asked his lab assistant to take him home, but due to wartime restrictions, cars were prohibited at the time. Thus, Hofmann and his associate had to ride home on bicycles.
Here is where the climax of Bicycle Day took place. Hofmann’s condition became more and more severe as he rode home. He developed full-on anxiety, paranoia, and feared that he was going insane.
Hofmann became afraid that he had poisoned himself, not too wild of a thought, even for someone on a psychedelic trip. After all, ergot is deadly poisonous in its natural state.
On his experience during the ride back on Bicycle Day, Hofmann writes in his 1980 book LSD — My Problem Child saying, “Everything in my field of vision wavered and was distorted as if seen in a curved mirror. I also had the sensation of being unable to move from the spot. Nevertheless, my assistant later told me that we had traveled very rapidly.”
A doctor visited Hofmann and determined he was not in any danger, and Hofmann’s trip took a drastic turn. Instead of terrifying visions, the chemist enjoyed kaleidoscopic images and feelings of gratitude.
Wikimedia CommonsA blotting paper showcasing Hofmann’s experience riding his bike on LSD.
And so the invention of LSD as a psychedelic drug was born, as was Bicycle Day. Although Dr. Albert Hofmann is no longer with us (he died at the ripe age of 102 in 2008), his legacy lives on.
Memorialized on April 19, Bicycle Day isn’t necessarily a celebration (aside from some enthusiasts who choose to make it one), but rather a way to recognize a man, his amazing drug discovery, and the serendipitous way it happened.
After reading about Albert Hofmann and Bicycle Day, dive into the story of MK-Ultra, the government mind control experiment that involved using LSD on unwitting victims. Then, read about Timothy Leary, the Harvard professor turned “high priest of LSD.”
