Author and Social Reformer. Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’s literary career began in the 1930s with short stories in pulp magazines, then he served for a few years in the U.S. Navy during the WW II era, failing at most of his posts and commands. In 1945 he resumed his fiction writing, and in 1948, he moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he first wrote of what was to become Dianetics. The principle of Dianetics is that the brain records experiences as what he called engrams, and a person could be regressed through his engrams and be cured of physical ailments, improve mental health, and gain perfect memory. In April 1949, he wrote to several professional organizations to offer his research. None were interested, so he turned to pulp magazine editor John W. Campbell, who had a fascination with fringe psychologies and psychic powers. In May 1950, Dianetics was revealed in Astounding and his book “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health” was published. He abandoned freelance writing to promote Dianetics, writing several books about it in the next decade, delivering thousands of lectures and founding Dianetics research organizations. By August 1950, his book had sold 55,000 copies and was being translated into French, German and Japanese, and hundreds of Dianetics auditing groups had been set up across the United States. Branches of the Hubbard Dianetics Research Foundation were established in major cities across the U.S. Dianetics lost credibility in August 1950 when at presentation in Los Angeles, the subject failed to remember several basic facts or recent observations. The community splintered and by late 1950, some foundations were deeply in debt, and in 1951, many other foundations had closed. He then established a college to promote Dianetics, but six weeks later, he closed it down. He then established a Hubbard Association of Scientologists International to promote his new organization, Scientology. Scientology was differentiated as a spiritual doctrine based on the concept that the true self of a person was an immortal, omniscient and powerful alien entity. He promoted Scientology through lectures, bulletins and books. Scientology was organized in a very different way from Dianetics, with the Hubbard Association of Scientologists (HAS) was the only official Scientology organization. Training procedures and doctrines were standardized and promoted through HAS publications, and staff were not permitted to deviate from his approach. In 1953, he incorporated the Church of Scientology, Church of American Science and Church of Spiritual Engineering. Most of the independent Scientology and Dianetics groups were either driven out of business or were absorbed into his organizations. By the start of the 1960s, he was the leader of a worldwide movement with thousands of followers. He established a Department of Government Affairs as a tool to use to exert political control. The FBI had a lengthy file on him, and police forces in several jurisdictions began exchanging information about Scientology through Interpol, which eventually led to prosecutions. In 1958, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service withdrew the Church of Scientology's tax exemption after it found that he and his family were profiting unreasonably from Scientology's non-profit income. The Food and Drug Administration acted against Scientology's medical claims, seizing bogus medicine and other property. Scientology attracted increasingly unfavorable publicity across the English-speaking world and was eventually banned in Australia and the United Kingdom. He responded by requiring Scientologists to disconnect from any organization or individual deemed to be disruptive or suppressive, and to report transgressions or misapplications of Scientology methods. In 1965, he revealed the secrets of how Xenu, the leader of the Galactic Confederacy, had shipped billions of people to Earth and blown them up with hydrogen bombs, following which their traumatized spirits became contained within human beings. He created a long list of punishable activities and created a policy which gave permission to harm or destroy foes of the group. At the start of March 1966, he created the Guardian's Office (GO), which dealt with perceived threats by retaliating with hundreds of writs for libel and slander. At the end of 1966, he bought three ships, which were crewed by Scientologist volunteers and a few professional seamen. In 1967 they began an eight-year voyage, sailing in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern North Atlantic. He sought to establish a haven in a friendly country but was unable to stay in any one place very long due to legal and social troubles. During the 1970s, he faced an increasing number of legal threats. He suffered from the effects of smoking, bursitis, excessive weight, serious injuries from a motorcycle accident, a heart attack and a pulmonary embolism. He remained active in managing and developing Scientology, establishing the Rehabilitation Project Force in 1974 and issuing policy and doctrinal bulletins. In 1973, he directed the GO to remove negative reports about Scientology from government files. Members of the GO infiltrated and burglarized numerous government organizations, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service. After two GO agents were caught in the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the IRS, the FBI carried out raids on GO offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. in 1977. They retrieved wiretap equipment, burglary tools and some 90,000 pages of incriminating documents. Hubbard was not prosecuted, but eleven scientologists were sent to a federal prison. In February 1978 a French court convicted him in absentia for obtaining money under false pretenses. He was sentenced to four years in prison and a fine. He went into hiding, for the first few years of the 1980s living on the move in a recreational vehicle and living for a while in apartments. He wrote new science fiction - Battlefield Earth (1982) and Mission Earth, a series published between 1985 and 1987, and wrote music for three albums. For the last two years of his life, he lived on a ranch in hiding while the outside world wondered if he was still alive. He still managed the Church of Scientology and continued to receive large amounts of money. He suffered a stroke and died a week later, his body was cremated, and the ashes were scattered at sea.

Author and Social Reformer. Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’s literary career began in the 1930s with short stories in pulp magazines, then he served for a few years in the U.S. Navy during the WW II era, failing at most of his posts and commands. In 1945 he resumed his fiction writing, and in 1948, he moved to Savannah, Georgia, where he first wrote of what was to become Dianetics. The principle of Dianetics is that the brain records experiences as what he called engrams, and a person could be regressed through his engrams and be cured of physical ailments, improve mental health, and gain perfect memory. In April 1949, he wrote to several professional organizations to offer his research. None were interested, so he turned to pulp magazine editor John W. Campbell, who had a fascination with fringe psychologies and psychic powers. In May 1950, Dianetics was revealed in Astounding and his book “Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health” was published. He abandoned freelance writing to promote Dianetics, writing several books about it in the next decade, delivering thousands of lectures and founding Dianetics research organizations. By August 1950, his book had sold 55,000 copies and was being translated into French, German and Japanese, and hundreds of Dianetics auditing groups had been set up across the United States. Branches of the Hubbard Dianetics Research Foundation were established in major cities across the U.S. Dianetics lost credibility in August 1950 when at presentation in Los Angeles, the subject failed to remember several basic facts or recent observations. The community splintered and by late 1950, some foundations were deeply in debt, and in 1951, many other foundations had closed. He then established a college to promote Dianetics, but six weeks later, he closed it down. He then established a Hubbard Association of Scientologists International to promote his new organization, Scientology. Scientology was differentiated as a spiritual doctrine based on the concept that the true self of a person was an immortal, omniscient and powerful alien entity. He promoted Scientology through lectures, bulletins and books. Scientology was organized in a very different way from Dianetics, with the Hubbard Association of Scientologists (HAS) was the only official Scientology organization. Training procedures and doctrines were standardized and promoted through HAS publications, and staff were not permitted to deviate from his approach. In 1953, he incorporated the Church of Scientology, Church of American Science and Church of Spiritual Engineering. Most of the independent Scientology and Dianetics groups were either driven out of business or were absorbed into his organizations. By the start of the 1960s, he was the leader of a worldwide movement with thousands of followers. He established a Department of Government Affairs as a tool to use to exert political control. The FBI had a lengthy file on him, and police forces in several jurisdictions began exchanging information about Scientology through Interpol, which eventually led to prosecutions. In 1958, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service withdrew the Church of Scientology's tax exemption after it found that he and his family were profiting unreasonably from Scientology's non-profit income. The Food and Drug Administration acted against Scientology's medical claims, seizing bogus medicine and other property. Scientology attracted increasingly unfavorable publicity across the English-speaking world and was eventually banned in Australia and the United Kingdom. He responded by requiring Scientologists to disconnect from any organization or individual deemed to be disruptive or suppressive, and to report transgressions or misapplications of Scientology methods. In 1965, he revealed the secrets of how Xenu, the leader of the Galactic Confederacy, had shipped billions of people to Earth and blown them up with hydrogen bombs, following which their traumatized spirits became contained within human beings. He created a long list of punishable activities and created a policy which gave permission to harm or destroy foes of the group. At the start of March 1966, he created the Guardian's Office (GO), which dealt with perceived threats by retaliating with hundreds of writs for libel and slander. At the end of 1966, he bought three ships, which were crewed by Scientologist volunteers and a few professional seamen. In 1967 they began an eight-year voyage, sailing in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern North Atlantic. He sought to establish a haven in a friendly country but was unable to stay in any one place very long due to legal and social troubles. During the 1970s, he faced an increasing number of legal threats. He suffered from the effects of smoking, bursitis, excessive weight, serious injuries from a motorcycle accident, a heart attack and a pulmonary embolism. He remained active in managing and developing Scientology, establishing the Rehabilitation Project Force in 1974 and issuing policy and doctrinal bulletins. In 1973, he directed the GO to remove negative reports about Scientology from government files. Members of the GO infiltrated and burglarized numerous government organizations, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service. After two GO agents were caught in the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the IRS, the FBI carried out raids on GO offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. in 1977. They retrieved wiretap equipment, burglary tools and some 90,000 pages of incriminating documents. Hubbard was not prosecuted, but eleven scientologists were sent to a federal prison. In February 1978 a French court convicted him in absentia for obtaining money under false pretenses. He was sentenced to four years in prison and a fine. He went into hiding, for the first few years of the 1980s living on the move in a recreational vehicle and living for a while in apartments. He wrote new science fiction - Battlefield Earth (1982) and Mission Earth, a series published between 1985 and 1987, and wrote music for three albums. For the last two years of his life, he lived on a ranch in hiding while the outside world wondered if he was still alive. He still managed the Church of Scientology and continued to receive large amounts of money. He suffered a stroke and died a week later, his body was cremated, and the ashes were scattered at sea.

Bio by: Pete Mohney