Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary was born in 1920 in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1950, he earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and worked at the Kaiser Foundation's clinic in Oakland as the Director of Psychological Research. After a period in Europe, where he lectured in Spain, Denmark, and Italy, Timothy Leary collaborated with Harvard University's Center for Personality Research. Leary was dismissed from his duties in 1963 when it became known that he experimented on himself, his assistants, and hundreds of volunteers with controlled doses of psilocybin, a chemical derivative of "sacred mushrooms." A messiah, martyr, and controversial leader of the psychedelic movement, Leary published numerous articles as well as the books "High Priest" and "Psychedelic Prayers." He passed away in Los Angeles on May 31, 1996, at the age of 75.