Counterculture journalist Hunter Stocton Thompson (1937–2005) was born on this day in Louisville, Kentucky. The son of an insurance salesman and a star athlete in high school, he joined the Air Force where he began his writing career.

He observed: “Enough is never enough, and even more is usually inadequate.”

Thompson pioneered New Journalism—gonzo journalism—in which the writer became part of the story, offering irreverent and subjective insight. He catapulted to fame with his reporting for Rolling Stone, Playboy, and books like Hell's Angels (1966) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1972).

“Fiction is based on reality unless you're a fairytale artist,” he said.

Hunter's essays offered brilliant insight into American politics and culture. Whether the topic was Richard Nixon, sports, Watergate, or Las Vegas, his words exploded with humor and passion, capturing the raw vision of life in turbulent times.

Hunter spent his life searching for an honest man—and rarely found one, said longtime editor James Silberman.

He also inspired the hard-living “Uncle Duke” character in Garry Trudeau’s comic strip Doonesbury. “I wouldn’t recommend sex, drugs or insanity for everyone,” Hunter wrote, “but they’ve always worked for me.”

“Obviously, my drug use is exaggerated or I would be long since dead,” he told USA Today in 1990.

✨Hunter Thompson blazed his own trail. Honored among the Top 100 Writers of the 20th Century. Click to wander the rest.