Michael Hollingshead (?–1984?) was a British researcher who studied
psychedelic drugs
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
, including
psilocybin
Psilocybin ( , ) is a naturally occurring psychedelic prodrug compound produced by more than 200 species of fungi. The most potent are members of the genus ''Psilocybe'', such as '' P. azurescens'', '' P. semilanceata'', and '' P.&nbs ...
and
LSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), also known colloquially as acid, is a potent psychedelic drug. Effects typically include intensified thoughts, emotions, and sensory perception. At sufficiently high dosages LSD manifests primarily mental, vi ...
, at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
in the mid-20th century. He was the father of
comedian Vanessa Hollingshead. He evangelized the use of LSD to many notable figures.
Biography
Hollingshead was the Executive Secretary for the Institute of British-American Cultural Exchange in 1961. Dr. John Beresford, a research scientist, received a package of one gram of LSD from
Sandoz Laboratories
Novartis AG is a Swiss-American multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland and
Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States (global research).name="novartis.com">https://www.novartis.com/research-development/research-loca ...
in
Switzerland at a time when it was still legal to experiment with it. Beresford, in turn, gave part of the gram to Hollingshead. One of Hollingshead's experiments studied the effects on web-weaving by
spider
Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s under the influence of the drug.
Hollingshead claims to have first tried LSD by licking the spoon of a batch of LSD-laced cake icing he had packed in a mayonnaise jar for transport. (This jar was to become the object of psychedelic legend.) Following this first experience, Hollingshead contacted
Aldous Huxley
Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He wrote nearly 50 books, both novels and non-fiction works, as well as wide-ranging essays, narratives, and poems.
Born into the prominent Huxle ...
, who suggested he get in contact with
Timothy Leary
Timothy Francis Leary (October 22, 1920 – May 31, 1996) was an American psychologist and author known for his strong advocacy of psychedelic drugs. Evaluations of Leary are polarized, ranging from bold oracle to publicity hound. He was "a her ...
to discuss the potential of the drug. In September 1961, Hollingshead met Leary in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
, and was invited to live in the latter's house and teach a course at Harvard. Shortly thereafter, he introduced Leary to LSD.
Hollingshead participated in the
Concord Prison Experiment
The Concord Prison Experiment, conducted from 1961 to 1963, was designed to evaluate whether the experiences produced by the psychoactive drug psilocybin, derived from psilocybin mushrooms, combined with psychotherapy, could inspire prisoners to ...
with Leary,
Ralph Metzner
Ralph Metzner (May 18, 1936 – March 14, 2019) was a German-born American psychologist, writer and researcher, who participated in psychedelic research at Harvard University in the early 1960s with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later named ...
, and others in 1962. For the next few years he worked with psychedelic therapists, and lived at
Millbrook, New York with Leary and Richard Alpert (a.k.a.
Ram Dass
Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert; April 6, 1931 – December 22, 2019), also known as Baba Ram Dass, was an American spiritual teacher, guru of modern yoga, psychologist, and author. His best-selling 1971 book '' Be Here Now'', which has been ...
). He then set up a New York-based project of his own together with
Jean Houston
Jean Houston (born 10 May 1937) is an American author involved in the human potential movement. Along with her husband, Robert Masters, she co-founded the Foundation for Mind Research.
Biography
Early life and education
Houston was born in New ...
, where guided trips were performed and data gathered which, according to Hollingshead's book, formed the core material for Masters' and Houston's work ''The Varieties of Psychedelic Experience''. In 1965, he moved to
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and opened the World Psychedelic Center.
He also worked in experimental film, collaborating on the Scott Bartlett short subject "A Trip to the Moon", in 1968.
Hollingshead was an associate of the
Castalia Foundation, a contributor to the ''
Psychedelic Review'', and interviewed cult writer
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson ...
for ''
High Times
''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade.Danko, Danny"Norml Founder Retires – Exha ...
'' magazine in 1980.
According to ''Psychedelia Britannica'', Hollingswood died in the early 1980s. In a 2018 interview, Hollingshead's daughter Vanessa said that her father died in
Bolivia from a
stomach ulcer
The stomach is a muscular, hollow organ in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and many other animals, including several invertebrates. The stomach has a dilated structure and functions as a vital organ in the digestive system. The stomach i ...
in 1984.
Influence
Apart from Leary, those Hollingshead is reputed to have introduced to LSD include writers
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II (; February 5, 1914 – August 2, 1997) was an American writer and visual artist, widely considered a primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodern author who influenced popular cultur ...
and
Paul Krassner
Paul Krassner (April 9, 1932 – July 21, 2019) was an American author, journalist, and comedian. He was the founder, editor, and a frequent contributor to the freethought magazine ''The Realist'', first published in 1958. Krassner became a key ...
, comparative religions scholar
Huston Smith
Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 – December 30, 2016) was an influential scholar of religious studies in the United States, He authored at least thirteen books on world's religions and philosophy, and his book about comparative religion, ' ...
, philosopher
Alan Watts
Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu ...
,
graphic designer Storm Thorgerson
Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English graphic designer and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other ar ...
,
film director Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...
,
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
, businessman-financier
Saul Steinberg
Saul Steinberg (June 15, 1914 – May 12, 1999) was a Romanian-American artist, best known for his work for ''The New Yorker'', most notably '' View of the World from 9th Avenue''. He described himself as "a writer who draws".
Biography
S ...
, musicians
Donovan,
Keith Richards
Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...
,
Pete LaRoca,
Charles Mingus,
Maynard Ferguson and
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
,
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
, and
George Harrison of
the Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...
.
Bibliography and articles
* Hollingshead, Michael & Timothy Leary, George Litwin, Günther Weil, Richard Alpert (1962) ''The Politics of the Nervous System''. - The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (1962) by Atomic Scientists of Chicago, Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science (Chicago, Ill.) (response to ''Psycho Chemicals as Weapons'' by Dr. E. James Lieberman - January 1962)
* Hollingshead, Michael (1973) ''The Man Who Turned On the World''. Abelard-Schuman Publ. New York (also Blond & Briggs, Ltd.)
* ''The Sayings of Michael Hollingshead''. ''Blotter'' magazine Issue #3
* Hollingshead, Michael (1968) ''Introduction to "Lightshow"'' Harbinger Magazine (produced by the Oracle staff as their 13th issue and attempted revival of the publication) Harbinger University Press, July 1968. by Michael Hollingshead
* Harris, Lee & Chris Render (1994) ''Best of Homegrown'' Red Shift (contributor to anthology of ''Homegrown'' magazine)
References
External links
Profile his 1973 autobiography.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hollingshead, Michael
Year of birth missing (living people)
British psychedelic drug advocates
Harvard University faculty
Psychedelic drug researchers