Havelock Ellis studied medicine at St. Thomas's Hospital in London and graduated in 1889 with a Licentiate in Medicine, Surgery and Midwifery from the Society of Apothecaries. He was a skilled midwife, but only practiced medicine for a short time. In 1883, Ellis co-founded the Fellowship of the New Life, which aimed at the moral perfection of its members. Ellis was a strong proponent of sexual liberation and published a six-book series on the topic between 1897 and 1910. Within the psychedelic world, he is best known for his article "Mescal: A New Artificial Paradise", published in 1898.