Buzz
You can argue all you want about the effects of drugs and alcohol, but they’ve played a role in the success of many people. For certain historical figures, these substances were key to their creative process. Others simply got drunk and had a brilliant idea. Regardless, being intoxicated helped these people cement their place in history.
10. Jules Goux
On May 30, 1913, French driver Jules Goux made history as the first European to win the Indianapolis 500. The next year, race organizers implemented a ban on drinking while driving, likely as a response to Goux’s victory. Racing legend says he drank six bottles of champagne during the race.
Over time, the story evolved, and the version most commonly recalled is that Goux had a bottle of champagne at each pit stop. However, modern historians believe this number is exaggerated. They suggest Goux actually consumed four or five bottles of champagne or chilled wine, which he graciously shared with his mechanic, Emil Begin.
Regardless, Goux certainly drank more than was wise while speeding in one of the fastest cars of his era. He won by a 13-minute margin and later remarked, “Without the good wine, I would not have won.”
9. John Pemberton
Before John Pemberton created Coca-Cola, he served as a Confederate soldier in the US Civil War. During the conflict, he developed a morphine addiction to manage his injuries, a struggle that persisted throughout his life. Pemberton used his knowledge of pharmaceuticals to craft a tonic that could potentially ease his dependency.
This led to the creation of Pemberton’s French Wine Coca, an alcoholic beverage that combined wine, cocaine, and kola nuts, drawing inspiration from a similar Parisian drink called Vin Mariani.
As was typical at the time, Pemberton marketed his drink as a cure-all for various ailments. However, the growing temperance movement pressured him into producing a nonalcoholic version.
Pemberton removed the wine (but kept the cocaine) and brewed the first batch of Coca-Cola in 1886. Despite his success, he never overcame his morphine addiction, and financial hardships soon compelled him to sell his formula.
8. Sons Of Liberty
When the Sons of Liberty disguised themselves as Native Americans and dumped tea into Boston Harbor in 1773, they set the stage for one of the most pivotal events in US history. Before taking action, some members of the group gathered at journalist Benjamin Edes’s house to strategize. Central to their meeting was a bowl filled with strong punch, which fueled the conspirators as they finalized their plans.
The bowl is now part of the collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society, along with letters from Benjamin Edes’s son, Peter. He recalls that his task on that fateful day was to continually replenish the punch and keep the bowl full. He did so multiple times throughout the afternoon. During the Boston Tea Party itself, several participants had to pause due to illness caused by too much rum.
7. Alexandre Dumas
From 1844 to 1849, Alexandre Dumas was a member of the Hashish Club, an exclusive Parisian society known for its indulgence in various drugs, with hashish being the most favored.
Hashish had only recently made its way into France following Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign. Dr. Jacques-Joseph Moreau was at the forefront of popularizing its recreational use, attracting prominent Parisian figures such as Victor Hugo, Charles Baudelaire, and Alexandre Dumas.
Many members of the Hashish Club wrote about their experiences with the drug, but Dumas was arguably the most prolific during this period. Between 1844 and 1846, he produced his most famous works—The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers. The former even features a notable scene in which Baron Franz d’Epinay smokes hashish with the protagonist, who is disguised as Sinbad the Sailor.
6. Paul Erdos
Paul Erdos was one of the most influential mathematicians of the 20th century, publishing hundreds of papers on a wide variety of topics. He was also known for his 25-year-long dependence on amphetamines.
Erdos gained a reputation in the mathematics community as a solitary traveler. He kept all his belongings in a suitcase, hopping from conference to conference around the globe. He would stay in the homes of other mathematicians, where his hosts took care of his basic needs while he focused entirely on his mathematical work.
In 1979, Erdos’s friend and fellow mathematician Ronald Graham made a bet with him that highlighted how crucial amphetamines had become to Erdos’s thinking process. Concerned for his friend's health, Graham bet Erdos $500 that he couldn’t go a month without amphetamines.
Erdos accepted the challenge and won the bet. However, afterward, he complained that he had no ideas during that month and promptly resumed taking the drug.
5. Doug Ingle
In 1968, Iron Butterfly released In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. It went on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time and the first album to receive platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. Much of this success can be attributed to the album’s title track, a 17-minute psychedelic masterpiece written and named by lead vocalist Doug Ingle while intoxicated.
At the time, Iron Butterfly was technically no longer a band, as three of its members had recently departed. The remaining members, Ron Bushy and Doug Ingle, were sharing an apartment and getting by on Bushy’s pizza delivery job. One day, Bushy came back to find Ingle completely wasted after consuming 4 liters (1 gallon) of wine.
Ingle attempted to show Bushy a new song he had written, but his speech was so slurred that Bushy ended up writing down what he could understand phonetically. This is how the phrase 'in the garden of Eden' became 'in-a-gadda-da-vida,' and thus rock history was made.
4. Douglas Adams
In 1978, British author Douglas Adams created a radio comedy series called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The series evolved into one of the most successful franchises ever, primarily consisting of a five-book series written by Adams that sold over 15 million copies.
Adams claimed that the idea for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy came to him in 1971 while he was an 18-year-old traveling through Europe. One evening, in Innsbruck, Austria, Adams got drunk and wandered into a field. He sat down, gazed up at the starry sky while holding a hitchhiker’s guide to Europe, and thought someone should write a guide for the entire galaxy. He fell asleep afterward, almost forgetting the drunken inspiration.
3. William Halsted
William Halsted, a pioneering American surgeon, was a key advocate for anesthesia and cleanliness in hospitals. However, throughout his career, he also battled a serious addiction to cocaine and morphine.
Halsted began his medical journey in New York, where the addictive qualities of cocaine were not well known, and it was considered one of the most effective anesthetics. Eager to test its effects, Halsted used it on himself, which soon led to an addiction.
As his addiction worsened, Halsted lost his job in New York. He then moved to a rising hospital in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins. By then, Halsted had tried to combat his cocaine dependency with morphine, but this attempt failed, and he developed a new addiction.
Despite his struggles, Halsted became the epitome of a functioning addict. His surgical work was flawless, but outside the operating room, he was often erratic, bipolar, and known to disappear without warning.
2. William S. Burroughs
In 1959, William S. Burroughs, a prominent figure of the Beat Generation, released one of the most controversial and widely discussed novels of the 20th century—Naked Lunch. The novel sparked intense debate, leading to its ban in several parts of the United States and Europe due to accusations of obscenity.
The story chronicles the fragmented adventures of William Lee, a junkie who serves as a thinly disguised version of Burroughs himself. At the time, Burroughs was deeply immersed in drugs and constantly on the run, evading the authorities who were pursuing him for crimes linked to his addiction. A key event in his life was the 1951 incident in Mexico City, where Burroughs fatally shot his wife, Joan Vollmer, during a drug-induced game of 'William Tell.'
While composing Naked Lunch, Burroughs was residing in Tangier, Morocco. Struggling to acquire his usual heroin, he resorted to using eukodal, an opioid that is now recognized as oxycodone.
1. Carl Sagan
By the time of his passing, Carl Sagan had earned worldwide recognition as one of the most prominent scientists. Today, he's remembered not just for his exceptional ability to communicate science, but also for his outspoken support of marijuana.
Sagan was a regular cannabis user throughout much of his life, though he kept it discreet from the public eye. His friends and family were aware that marijuana aided his creativity, and many of his papers were influenced by his use of the drug.
Though Carl Sagan kept his love for marijuana under wraps, he couldn't resist contributing an essay on marijuana for a 1971 book written by his close friend and fellow user, Dr. Lester Grinspoon. Titled Marihuana Reconsidered, Sagan used the pseudonym Mr. X, but left subtle clues to his true identity. In his essay, Sagan reflects on numerous positive experiences with the drug, acknowledging how marijuana helped him deepen his appreciation for food, music, and art, and even enhanced his academic endeavors.
