Ken Kesey was born on September 17th, 1935 in La Junta, Colorado. He grew up in the Pacific Northwest. As a young adult, he enrolled in a creative writing program at Stanford, where he excelled. While at Stanford, in 1959, he volunteered to be part of a research study that tested a smorgasbord of psychoactive drugs. This led to the creation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and inspired his own experimentation with psychadelic drugs. He formed a ragtag group known as the Merry Pranksters, that traveled the country in a bus called "Furthur" (future and further), engaged in peaceful demonstrations and guerrilla theater. He helped shape the culture of the 60s.

Reference:
Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters. (1998). Retrieved October 06, 2010 from University of Virginia: http://www2.lib.virginia.edu/​exhibits/​sixties/​kesey.html .