Timothy Leary

Timothy Leary was born an only child in Springfield, Massachusetts. After being honorably discharged by West Point for binge drinking and other infractions, Leary attended the University of Alabama but was expelled for having a female in his dorm room. Losing his student deferment, Leary was drafted to the Army, where he was able to continue his studies in the field of psychology. After WWII ended, Leary pursued a career in academics and psychology research. In the late 1950s, Leary began studying the beneficial psychological effects of psychedelic substances, including psilocybin mushrooms and LSD, eventually coming a key figure of the 1960s U.S. counterculture movement. In the 1970s, Leary faced many legal troubles stemming from marijuana possession charges but continued to write books in prison and after his release. He died of prostate cancer in 1996.