1951

US Army General Douglas McArthur asks American President Truman for permission to use atomic weapons in the Korean War. President Truman fires General Douglas McArthur.

Richard Nixon enters the U.S. Senate as its youngest member. His Senate career is uneventful and he is able to concentrate all his efforts on the upcoming presidential election.

Johnny Appleseed of LSD: Alfred Hubbard first tries LSD. An OSS officer in WW II Hubbard first took LSD in 1951, and proceeded to turn on several individuals prominent in LSD research, including Dr. Humphrey Osmond, Myron Stolaroff , and Aldous Huxley, earning him the title of “the Johnny Appleseed of LSD”. (Lee, Martin and Schlain, Bruce, Acid Dreams, Grove Press, 1985, pg 44)

Circa 1951 Hubbard later did undercover work for several agencies, including the FDA and FBI. He reportedly tried (and failed) to turn on J. Edgar Hoover. He introduced LSD to many high-ranking intelligence officers. In the early 1950’s, he refused an offer to join the CIA. (Lee and Schlain, pg 52) In all, it is estimated that Hubbard introduced LSD to over 6,000 individuals. He worked until 1965 at the International Foundation for Advanced Study (mis-identified here, I think, as the International Federation for Advanced Studies) (Fahey, Todd Brendan, The Original Captain Trips“,High Times, November 1991)

Fahey describes Hubbard’s work at SRI differently, placing him with the Alternative Futures Project, which sought to turn on the world’s political and business leaders. He left SRI in 1974, and died on August 31, 1982. (Fahey)

Department of Defense begins open air tests using disease-producing bacteria and viruses. Tests last through 1969 and there is concern that people in the surrounding areas have been exposed.

Office of Special Operations (OSO) is merged with the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC) by Walter Bedell Smith. The CIA no longer had to share covert operations with the Pentagon and State Department. During the year, CIA money set up the Center of International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Such linkage between the CIA and research institutions on campus and in the private sector soon became standard, as it did for the Pentagon.