Irwin Allen Ginsberg ( June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and one of the leading figures of both the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the counterculture that soon would follow. He vigorously opposedmilitarism, economicc materialism and sexual repression. Ginsberg is best known for his epic poem "Howl", in which he denounced what he saw as the destructive forces of capitalism and conformity in the United States.

         Ginsberg was a practicing Buddhist who studied Eastern religious disciplines extensively. One of his most influential teachers was the Tibetan Buddhist, the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa.

      One contribution that is often considered his most significant and most controversial was his openness about homosexuality. Ginsberg was an early proponent of freedom for gay people. In 1943, he discovered within himself "mountains of homosexuality." He expressed this desire openly and graphically in his poetry. His long time partner was Peter Anton Orlovsky.

     In the beginning of April 1997, Ginsberg was told by doctors that he did not have much time left, and on the eve of his death, a dozen of his close friends and old lovers decided to sleep overnight in his apartment.Around 2:30 in the morning on April 5,  he began to breathe heavily and laboured in his sleep, awaking his guests. Dr. Joel Gaidemak, he examined him and said that the end was close; a few