Sidney Gottlieb was an American chemist and CIA agent who was heavily involved in the mid-20th century MKULTRA project, a secret and controversial program that used mind-control techniques to manipulate subjects into performing certain behaviors. Toward the end of the 1950s, Gottlieb was part of an effort to control the behavior and thoughts of people through a sustained program of experimentation and test subjects. In essence, MKULTRA sought to create an individual who could be manipulated in any way the CIA desired.

Gottlieb was born in the Bronx in 1918 and attended the City College of New York before joining the CIA in 1951. As a member of the Technical Services Staff (TSS), he was one of the agency's top scientists, responsible for developing new ways to manipulate the minds of people. Gottlieb's main involvement in the MKULTRA project was in the design and implementation of various experiments and tests. These experiments were conducted with the approval of the director of the project, Richard Helms, and involved running various experiments on unwitting subjects.

One of the most notable experiments Gottlieb was involved in was the use of LSD in the MKULTRA project. The CIA had first become interested in the hallucinogenic properties of LSD in the early 1950s, and Gottlieb was tasked with finding ways to test the drug on unwitting subjects. He and his team tried to establish the effects of LSD on various mental processes, including the creation of false memories and the manipulation of emotions.

The CIA's use of LSD in the MKULTRA program was highly controversial, and some of Gottlieb's experiments proved to be damaging and unethical. In addition, Gottlieb was also responsible for the use of other experimental drugs and techniques to influence the behavior and thoughts of unwitting test subjects. These included sensory deprivation, hypnosis, electric shock therapy, and other forms of torture.

Despite the ethical and moral issues surrounding the MKULTRA program, Gottlieb's involvement in it was instrumental in determining the feasibility of using mind control techniques as a means of influencing behavior. While some of his tactics were unethical and immoral, Gottlieb's work was important in understanding the potential of the human mind and its ability to be manipulated.

Gottlieb retired from the CIA in 1963, but his involvement in the MKULTRA program was revealed in 1975 when Congress investigated the program. Although he never faced any charges, his involvement in MKULTRA remained controversial and his legacy remains tied to one of the most controversial aspects of the CIA's history.