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Dr. Harold Abramson
CIA-Funded LSD Researcher and Key Figure in the Frank Olson Death
Columbia University physician and allergist who conducted CIA-funded LSD experiments and was the last known person to see Frank Olson alive before his fatal fall
Overview
Dr. Harold Alexander Abramson (1899-1980) was an American physician, allergist, and researcher at Columbia University and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory who became one of the CIA's most prolific LSD researchers under the MKUltra program. Despite having no psychiatric training, Abramson received direct CIA funding to study the effects of LSD on human subjects and played a central and deeply suspicious role in the death of Army biochemist Frank Olson in November 1953. Abramson was among the first scientists recruited by CIA chemist Sidney Gottlieb to study LSD's potential for interrogation and mind control. He conducted experiments at Columbia University and Mount Sinai Hospital, testing LSD on both knowing and unknowing subjects, including himself. Abramson published research on LSD's effects on Siamese fighting fish, which drew ridicule but was part of a broader program of CIA-funded behavioral studies. His most consequential involvement came after Frank Olson was secretly dosed with LSD at a CIA retreat at Deep Creek Lodge in November 1953. When Olson experienced a severe psychological crisis, Gottlieb sent him to Abramson rather than a proper psychiatrist, likely to avoid exposing the classified program. Abramson met with Olson multiple times in New York City in the days before Olson plunged from the 13th floor of the Hotel Statler on November 28, 1953. Abramson's account of Olson's mental state and the events leading to his death have been questioned for decades. When Olson's body was exhumed in 1994, forensic pathologist James Starrs found evidence of a blow to the head consistent with homicide rather than suicide. The Olson family's lawsuit against the CIA continued into the 2010s.
Key Affiliations
Columbia University
Physician and researcher; conducted CIA-funded LSD experiments under MKUltra
organization
Central Intelligence Agency
MKUltra researcher; received direct funding for LSD experiments on human subjects
agency
Mount Sinai Hospital
Conducted LSD research on patients
organization
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Research affiliate
organization
Controversies & Concerns
Conducted CIA-funded LSD experiments on human subjects at Columbia University and Mount Sinai Hospital under MKUltra, despite having no psychiatric training
Was the last known person to see Frank Olson alive before his fatal 13th-floor fall from the Hotel Statler on November 28, 1953
Treated Olson for psychological distress after his secret LSD dosing, rather than referring him to a psychiatrist, likely to protect the classified MKUltra program
His account of the events leading to Olson's death has been questioned by investigators for decades; 1994 exhumation found evidence consistent with homicide
Received direct CIA funding routed through front organizations to conduct experiments on both willing and unwitting subjects
Published research on the effects of LSD on Siamese fighting fish as part of CIA-funded behavioral research programs
Related Investigations (1)
Criminal Charges & Violations
1 documented violations
pendingNo criminal charges were ever filed(N/A)
Known Associates & Connections
Sidney Gottlieb
MKUltra program director who recruited Abramson and sent the distressed Frank Olson to him rather than a proper psychiatrist
Frank Olson
Army biochemist secretly dosed with LSD; Abramson was treating him in the days before his fatal fall
James Starrs
Forensic pathologist who exhumed Olson's body in 1994 and found evidence inconsistent with suicide
Sources & Documentation
3 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports
Stephen Kinzer, Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA Search for Mind Control (Henry Holt, 2019)(2019)
H.P. Albarelli Jr., A Terrible Mistake: The Murder of Frank Olson and the CIA's Secret Cold War Experiments (Trine Day, 2009)(2009)
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Project MKUltra, the CIA's Program of Research in Behavioral Modification (August 3, 1977)(1977)
Personal Information
- Born
- 1899
Education
- •Columbia University, MD
Key Timeline
1899
Born
1940s
Begins career as physician and allergist at Columbia University
Early 1950s
Recruited by Sidney Gottlieb as one of the first MKUltra LSD researchers
November 19, 1953
Frank Olson secretly dosed with LSD at Deep Creek Lodge CIA retreat
November 24-27, 1953
Meets with Frank Olson multiple times in New York City as Olson's psychological state deteriorates
November 28, 1953
Frank Olson falls to his death from the 13th floor of the Hotel Statler; Abramson is the last known person to have seen him alive
1953-1960s
Continues CIA-funded LSD research at Columbia and other institutions
1975
Church Committee and Rockefeller Commission expose Olson's LSD dosing and death; Abramson's role becomes public
1980
Dies without ever facing prosecution or formal investigation