L. Ron Hubbard
L. Ron Hubbard was a pulp science fiction writer who wrote Dianetics and founded Scientology. He died in 1986.
More about L. Ron Hubbard
February 5, 1942: Naval officer L. Ron Hubbard writes a report; in it, he quotes Commander L. D. Causey, the US Naval Attache to Australia, as saying, "I have sent a message to the CinC Asiatic as of this morning stating that I wish you to be removed from Brisbane, stating that you are making a nuisance of yourself. You have never been under my orders and I consider you as having nothing to do with me."
February 13, 1942: A document purportedly written by US Army Colonel Alexander L. P. Johnson to the Commander of the Base Force, Darwin, Australia describes L. Ron Hubbard as "an intelligent, resourceful and dependable officer" and recommends that an earlier (unspecified) request be granted.
February 14, 1942: A memo from the US Naval Attache to Australia complains about L. Ron Hubbard: "By assuming unauthorized authority and attempting to perform duties for which he has no qualifications, he became the source of much trouble. ... This officer is not satisfactory for independent duty assignment. He is garrulous and tries to give impressions of his importance. He also seems to think that he has unusual ability in most lines. These characteristics indicate that he will require close supervision for satisfactory performance of any intelligence duty."
October 8, 1942: L. Ron Hubbard writes the Chief of Naval Personnel asking that he be nominated to "PC school".
February 5, 1943: The Navy forwards to L. Ron Hubbard a letter from a Dave Margolis. Margolis wrote to the Navy requesting that it make Hubbard pay an unpaid bill. The Navy instructs Hubbard to attend to the matter.
October 18, 1943: L. Ron Hubbard writes a letter to the Navy asking for orders taking him into combat duty.
May 22, 1946: Aleister Crowley cables his US office after reading reports from his branch headquarters in America and Jack Parsons's accounts of the occult ceremony he had performed with L. Ron Hubbard: "Suspect Ron playing confidence trick--Jack Parsons weak fool--obvious victim prowling swindlers." In a letter a few days later he said, "It seems to me on the information of our brethren in California that Parsons has got an illumination in which he lost all his personal independence. From our brother's account he has given away both his girl and his money. Apparently it is the ordinary confidence trick."
February 19, 1948: L. Ron Hubbard writes to the US Navy, asking that his previous letter of resignation be disregarded, in response to a reply from the Chief of Naval Personnel regretting Hubbard's decision to resign.
May 1, 1951: L. Ron Hubbard writes to the Veterans Administration stating that he is "willing to submit to a physical examination in connection with my claim for disability compensation." By 1951, he had already sold many copies of Dianetics, in which he claims that his "research" had enabled him to completely cure himself of all the injuries and maladies he suffered during the war.
May 24, 1951: L. Ron Hubbard sends a telegram to his mistress, Barbara: "Better keep our plans a close secret as I do not know what they would try to do to you if they knew. Be very careful. All my love, Ron."
February 3, 1953: An FBI document summarizes some information about L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. It mentions two US Marshalls attempting to serve a bench warrant on LRH while he was lecturing to the Association of Scientologists. It says "Allegations have been made that organizations he was affiliated with were of particular interest to perverts, hypochondriacs and curiosity seekers. In 1951 the State of New Jersey reported it had a case against him for teaching medicine without a license and in 1952 the Post Office was investigating him for mail fraud."
February 28, 1957: FBI director J. Edgar Hoover replies to an inquiry from Senator Styles Bridges. Hoover's letter says, in part, " ... the FBI has received numerous inquiries concerning Lafayette Ron Hubbard and the system of " dianetics" which he apparently originated, but no allegation of a violation within the jurisdiction of this Bureau has been received and, consequently, no investigation of this matter has been conducted by the FBI. [ Dianetics organizations have] encountered difficulty with police authorities in New Jersey, Michigan and Washington, D.C., for allegedly conducting schools in those areas, in which a branch of medicine and surgery was taught without a license. ... " Hoover also mentions a newspaper article carrying Sara Hubbard's allegations that LRH had subjected her to "scientific torture experiments."
February 3, 1959: In response to a request for an FBI file check, a report is written on L. Ron Hubbard and the Hubbard Dianetic Auditors School in New Jersey. The report says that the FBI hasn't investigated either one, but mentions the Look magazine article (including the claim that dianetics "is a milestone for Man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to his inventions of the wheel and the arch" and the claims that it can cure everything from eye trouble, bursitis, ulcers, and colds). It also mentions the divorce suit and the bit about "competent medical advisors recommended that Hubbard be committed to a private sanitarium for psychiatric observation and treatment of a mental ailment known as paranoid schizophrenia."
May 7, 1971: L. Ron Hubbard writes GO [Guardian Order] 070571 LRH "Secret: Notes on Smersh." (He took the word from the James Bond novels to refer to an international conspiracy that he believed was directing the attack on him.) An excerpt: "Penetration is always a win. We have made it in finding WHO attacks Scientology from where by doing what. This gives us an ever further penetration. We have found as well the EX intelligence officer mouth pieces [sic] in the UK that influence that government and push Nazi aims. We are getting even further penetration now into who is keeping this planet upset."
January 12, 1972: L. Ron Hubbard issues GO 111212, "Black Propaganda." It will later be cancelled and reissued as OSA Network Order 15 on February 18, 1988.
April 20, 1973: L. Ron Hubbard writes Guardian Order 732, in which he devises the Snow White Program for Scientology's intelligence agency, the Guardian's Office (GO), in an effort to root out and remove "false files" about the Church and Hubbard held by governments around the world. This becomes a sophisticated worldwide espionage operation targetting 17 governments and three international organisations.
January 21, 1975: L. Ron Hubbard issues GO 111212, "Willful False Reports," in which he says, "The government could be willfully manufacturing false reports in order to get rid of somebody." It will later be cancelled and reissued as OSA Network Order 19 on February 18, 1988.
June 27, 1975: L. Ron Hubbard writes an order for the Guardian's Office. An excerpt: "Info must find the who back of these IRS attacks and document it for exposure plus all other items of interest. It could be IRS and the government is attacking any vocal group to pave the way for some coup by the government. Evidence as to the why of these attacks must be gotten, powerful enough to destroy the attackers when eventually used or revealed." Hubbard said that somewhere in IRS was "an insane individual with insane plans" who was operating a " false reports factory." He wanted that person found.
February 12, 1976: The Flag Collections Officer [possibly Molly Harlow?] writes a memo to Joe Lisa entitled "Re: Rumours." It discusses rumors the Scientologists were trying to plant at the Clearwater Sun and the Chamber of Commerce that L. Ron Hubbard was in Europe and had come to the US to relax, do photography, and record choirs - not to set up the fake United Churches front that Scientology was hiding behind.
February 14, 1983: L. Ron Hubbard sends a handwritten letter to California Superior Court Judge J. David Hennigan. The letter states: "I am alive and well and working at my own trade (as a writer)." He rejects as "false and ill-informed" claims that his estate is being mismanaged. The letter is dated 3 February.
February 1, 1985: L. Fletcher Prouty, a former colonel in the US Air Force, creates an affidavit stating that the records released by the US Navy documenting L. Ron Hubbard's service in the armed forces "are incomplete ... those materials and records provided give ample evidence that proves the existence of other records that have been concealed, withheld and overlooked."
L. Ron Hubbard in the News
| August 18, 1933 | article on L. Ron Hubbard | Washington Daily News runs a 3-column article stating that L. Ron Hubbard found gold, platinum, and iridium on his in-laws' farm in Maryland. Nothing comes of big plans to unearth the hidden wealth; the family continues to live in near-poverty. | |
| May 9, 1950 | Astounding Science Fiction publishes article on Dianetics | Astounding Science Fiction magazine publishes "Dianetics" by L. Ron Hubbard. | |
| December 1, 1950 | review of Hubbard's work | Look magazine publishes a scathing review of Hubbard's work calling it a "poor man's psychiatry." | |
| April 11, 1951 | Hiding of Baby Charged to Dianetics Author | Mrs. Sara-Northrup Hubbard, 25, yesterday charged that her husband, L. Ron Hubbard, 40, inventor of "Dianetics," a new brand of psychology, had conspired to hide her baby from her. In a nine-page petition for a writ of habeas corpus she stated she had not seen the child Alexis Valorie, 13 months old, since February 23rd when the child was taken from her nursery and she herself' was "kidnapped" and taken to Yuma, Arizona. | |
| April 15, 1951 | Dianetics Man Reports He's in Cuban Hospital | Mrs. Sara N. Hubbard, suing L. Ron Hubbard, inventor of dianetics, for divorce or annulment, disclosed yesterday that she has received a letter from him mailed in Cuba which assures her that her 13-month old daughter Alexis Valore "is getting excellent care." The missive further stated that in the event of Hubbard's death the child "will get a fortune" unless Mrs. Hubbard should obtain the baby's custody. In that event, Hubbard was said to have warned, the child would receive nothing. | |
| April 17, 1951 | Hubbard's Daughter With Him In New Jersey | Dianetics founder L. Ron Hubbard's infant daughter, whom Hubbard last week was accused of snatching and hiding somewhere in the county, is instead with her father in New Jersey. The wife, Mrs. Sara Northrup Hubbard, 25, charged her child, was placed in the nursery the same night Hubbard allegedly forced her from her apartment and drove her to Arizona under threats he would kill her. | |
| April 23, 1951 | Wife of Dianetics Founder Asks Divorce on Cruelty Grounds | L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Dianetics Research Foundation, was sued for divorce by his wife, Sarah Northrup Hubbard, on charges that he had another wife when he married her, and subjected her to "systematic torture" which threatened her life. The complaint also outlined a long series of alleged abuses, charging that Hubbard "dominated her, physically and mentally, and subjected her to a systematic torture, including beatings, loss of sleep, strangulation and scientific torture experiments."
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| April 24, 1951 | article about L. Ron Hubbard | Washington Times Herald carries an article about L. Ron Hubbard. Frequently cited in FBI internal memos, it states that Hubbard's wife, in suing him for divorce, had claimed that he was "hopelessly insane." According to this article, "competent medical advisors recommended that Hubbard be committed to a private sanatorium for psychiatric observation and treatment of a mental ailment known as paranoid schizophrenia." | |
| March 21, 1964 | Have You Ever Been A Boo-Hoo? | A look at Scientology at St. Hill in the 1960s: The feats Hubbard claims for his science are just as unusual. At various times Hubbard has held that Scientology "can cure some seventy percent of man's illnesses," that it is the only effective counterforce to the H-bomb threat and that it can make you immune to the common cold. He maintains that Scientology can raise a person's I.Q. one point for every hour of auditing. | |
| February 14, 1966 | an article on Scientology; among other things, it notes some falsehoods in the Brief Biography of L. Ron Hubbard and mentions hi | Daily Mail - an article on Scientology; among other things, it notes some falsehoods in the Brief Biography of L. Ron Hubbard and mentions his use of Piltdown Man in support of his theories. | |
| December 6, 1968 | letters to the editor from L. Ron Hubbard and others in response to Alan Levy's "A True-Life Nightmare", which ran in the Nov. 1 | Life magazine: letters to the editor from L. Ron Hubbard and others in response to Alan Levy's "A True-Life Nightmare", which ran in the Nov. 15 issue | |
| October 5, 1969 | Scientology - The odd beginning of Ron Hubbard's career | Sunday Times: Scientology - The odd beginning of Ron Hubbard's career | |
| March 4, 1974 | The Reclusive Founder of Scientology | Hubbard and church leaders contend that he has resigned from the church's directorship, but that resignation seems to have made little difference. In a "policy letter" dated Sept. 1, 1966, the matter was ambiguously worded. Hubbard said that he was "resigning the title of executive director" and was being given the title of "Founder" instead - and that Scientology organizations owed him money. | |
| May 30, 1975 | Martin and the Detectives: The German Disciples of Lafayette Hubbard | Deutsche Zeitung: Martin and the Detectives: The German Disciples of Lafayette Hubbard | |
| August 27, 1978 | Two articles on L. Ron Hubbard, Church of Scientology founder | Los Angeles Times: Two articles on L. Ron Hubbard, Church of Scientology founder | |
| January 24, 1980 | The Scientology Papers: Hubbard Still Gave Orders, Records Show | L. Ron Hubbard, the former science fiction writer who publicly resigned in 1966 from leadership of the Church of Scientology, continued to give orders to its leaders into 1977, a Washington court has been told. Evidence obtained in 1977 in raids on U. S offices of the cult by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed there was a detailed program to cover up Mr. Hubbard's involvement in the leadership of Scientology. Called Operation Bulldozer Leak, it was part of the documentary evidence filed by federal prosecutors with the U. S. District Court that last month gave long prison terms to Mr. Hubbard's wife and eight other Scientology leaders for their roles in conspiracies to steal government documents and to obstruct justice by kidnapping an informer. The nine are free pending an appeal of the validity of some of the evidence. | |
| April 14, 1980 | Scientology Suit Says Secret Spa Was Labor Camp | A disillusioned former official of the Church of Scientology says sect founder L. Ron Hubbard has been secretly running the organization from a spa 80 miles east of Los Angeles. Sylvana Garritano, 25, described the Scientology enclave as "part insane asylum, part forced labor camp" ruled by the 69-year-old Hubbard and a dozen teen-age servants called "Commodore Messengers." | |
| April 14, 1980 | article on Scientology | Sylvana Garritano gives interview with Riverside, CA, newspaper. She is co-plaintiff in Lavenda Van Schaick RICO lawsuit against Church of Scientology. Ms. Garritano tells newspaper that L. Ron Hubbard runs Church of Scientology from Gilman Hot Springs near Hemet, CA. | |
| May 5, 1982 | Hubbard's son will testify today | "The son of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, is scheduled to testify today in the opening round of public hearings on the sect, the city's hired consultant said Tuesday." | |
| May 6, 1982 | L. Ron Hubbard's son says his father 'destroys' foes | "The son of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, testified Wednesday his father was obsessed with controlling people and 'destroyed' those who opposed him and the church." | |
| May 6, 1982 | 'They'll take the Kool-Aid' | " 'If Hubbard decides to leave this planet he'll take the others with him - they will take the Kool-Aid,' Walters said referring to the poisoned drink Jones and his followers swallowed in a November 1978 murder-suicide at Guyana." | |
| May 8, 1982 | Sect witnesses recount fear, deception, 'suicide' | "Meister, the day's final witness, said he went to Morocco in 1971 to identify his 22-year-old daughter's body after a Scientology minister notified the family she committed suicide. But he said a picture he saw led him to believe otherwise. The .22-caliber, long-barreled pistol that killed her was tucked beneath her folded arms as she lay on a cabin bed aboard Hubbard's ship, he said. A bullet hole pierced her forehead." | |
| December 12, 1982 | Son Says He Thinks Scientology Founder Died | The son of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology, has asked to be named trustee of the religion's holdings. "I think he's dead, or become as mentally incompetent as a cigarstore wooden Indian," Ronald E. DeWolf said of his father. "I've known for years that the person writing me and other members of my family, and sending presents, was not L. Ron Hubbard. | |
| February 20, 1983 | L. Ron Hubbard letter | Rocky Mountain News publishes a 7,000-word handwritten letter purported to have been written by L. Ron Hubbard. | |
| April 27, 1983 | LA judge refuses to give Hubbard's files to Scientologists | Los Angeles Times: LA judge refuses to give Hubbard's files to Scientologists | |
L. Ron Hubbard in the News
| January 1, 2009 | Anastasius Nordenholz, Buenos Aires. In 1934, publish | Anastasius Nordenholz is born in Buenos Aires. In 1934, he will publish a book entitled "Scientologie - Wissenschaft von der Beschaffenheit und Tauglichkeit des Wissens" ("Scientology Science of the Constitution and Usefulness of Knowledge"), thus predating L. Ron Hubbard's use of the word by several years. | |
| January 1, 2009 | Henry August Wilson, L. Ron Hubbard's father, Fayette, Iowa. His, birth; Mr., Mrs. James Hubbard, Harry Ross Hubbard. L. Ron Hub | Henry August Wilson, L. Ron Hubbard's father, is born at Fayette, Iowa. His mother dies at birth; Mr. and Mrs. James Hubbard adopt him and rename him Harry Ross Hubbard. L. Ron Hubbard made grandiose claims about his lineage, but in fact his father was an orphan. | |
| September 6, 1927 | L. Ron Hubbard, Helena High School, grandparents | L. Ron Hubbard enrolls as a junior in Helena High School while living with his maternal grandparents. | |
| December 18, 1928 | L. Ron Hubbard, Guam, two-month, China | L. Ron Hubbard and his mother arrive back in Guam after a two-month trip to China. | |
| December 12, 1939 | L. Ron Hubbard, NY Explorers Club | Using credentials that nobody could have possibly checked out, L. Ron Hubbard is approved for membership in the prestigious NY Explorers Club. He now begins to call himself "Captain Hubbard." | |
| February 19, 1940 | L. Ron Hubbard, Explorers Club | L. Ron Hubbard becomes a member of the Explorers Club. | |
| August 30, 1940 | L. Ron Hubbard, Ketchican, Alaska | L. Ron Hubbard arrives in Ketchican, Alaska on a "radio-experimental expedition." While in Alaska, he obtains a loan from the local bank which is never repaid. | |
| February 5, 1942 | Navy Report | Naval officer L. Ron Hubbard writes a report; in it, he quotes Commander L. D. Causey, the US Naval Attache to Australia, as saying, "I have sent a message to the CinC Asiatic as of this morning stating that I wish you to be removed from Brisbane, stating that you are making a nuisance of yourself. You have never been under my orders and I consider you as having nothing to do with me." | |
| February 13, 1942 | Army Report | A document purportedly written by US Army Colonel Alexander L. P. Johnson to the Commander of the Base Force, Darwin, Australia describes L. Ron Hubbard as "an intelligent, resourceful and dependable officer" and recommends that an earlier (unspecified) request be granted. | |
| February 14, 1942 | Navy Memo | A memo from the US Naval Attache to Australia complains about L. Ron Hubbard: "By assuming unauthorized authority and attempting to perform duties for which he has no qualifications, he became the source of much trouble. ... This officer is not satisfactory for independent duty assignment. He is garrulous and tries to give impressions of his importance. He also seems to think that he has unusual ability in most lines. These characteristics indicate that he will require close supervision for satisfactory performance of any intelligence duty." | |
| February 14, 1942 | L. Ron Hubbard's Navy, American Naval Attache L.D. Casey: | L. Ron Hubbard's Navy service is evaluated by American Naval Attache L.D. Casey: "In that he pretended competence without authority, and tried to carry out assignments for which he was not qualified, he has been the source of many problems. ... This officer does not fulfill the qualifications needed for independent assignment. He is loquacious and tries to impart impressions of his own importance. Besides that he appears to believe that he possesses extraordinary capability in most areas. These characteristics are a symptom of the need for close supervision under peacetime circumstances." | |
| February 17, 1942 | Naval, L. Ron Hubbard, US. US Naval Attach | Naval officer L. Ron Hubbard is sent back to the US. The US Naval Attach | |
| May 1, 1942 | L. Ron Hubbard, US Navy service, Office, Cable Censor | L. Ron Hubbard, as part of his US Navy service, begins working in the Office of Cable Censor. | |
| October 8, 1942 | LRH Letter to Navy | L. Ron Hubbard writes the Chief of Naval Personnel asking that he be nominated to "PC school". | |
| February 5, 1943 | Navy Letter | The Navy forwards to L. Ron Hubbard a letter from a Dave Margolis. Margolis wrote to the Navy requesting that it make Hubbard pay an unpaid bill. The Navy instructs Hubbard to attend to the matter. | |
| May 18, 1943 | L. Ron Hubbard, command, Oregon. 3, injured | L. Ron Hubbard, during his first and only command, fires on a magnetic deposit off the coast of Oregon. 3 crewmen are injured. | |
| June 28, 1943 | L. Ron Hubbard, USS PC-815, Coronados Islands, Mexico, later | L. Ron Hubbard, in command of the USS PC-815, orders his crew to conduct gunnery exercises on the Coronados Islands in Mexico. He will be found to have disobeyed orders and will be relieved of his command less than three weeks later. | |
| July 7, 1943 | L. Ron Hubbard, PC815 | L. Ron Hubbard's command of PC815 and career as ship's commanding officer ends officially. | |
| October 18, 1943 | Navy Letter | L. Ron Hubbard writes a letter to the Navy asking for orders taking him into combat duty. | |
| November 25, 1943 | L. Ron Hubbard, USS Algol | L. Ron Hubbard is posted to the USS Algol. | |
| September 5, 1945 | L. Ron Hubbard, US Naval Hospital, Oakland, CA., ulcer. His, arthritis, headaches | L. Ron Hubbard is admitted to the US Naval Hospital at Oakland, CA. to be treated for a duodenal ulcer. His other complaints included arthritis, hemorrhoids and headaches. | |
| December 5, 1945 | L. Ron Hubbard, Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, USNR officer, Officer Separation Center, San Francisco. His, day, conducted. (He, deta | L. Ron Hubbard is discharged from the Oak Knoll Naval Hospital and ordered to report to his last station as a USNR officer, the Officer Separation Center in San Francisco. His post there lasts only one day, during which the formalities of separation are conducted. (He was then detached, albeit still on active duty, from which he was released on February 16, 1946.) During his time in the army, he never saw battle or smelled gunpowder fired in anger. The four medals he received (he would later claim over twenty medals) were the ones commonly given to those who served in the areas that he was in. He was not wounded and never was singled out for bravery or heroism despite claims to the contrary. All of his time in the navy is accounted for, he was not employed as a secret agent and he did not go behind enemy lines for any purpose at any time. | |
| December 12, 1945 | L. Ron Hubbard's, Navy report, 5/20, (which, 12/20, 14/20, respectively). This, "legal blindness", doubtful. There, "legally bli | L. Ron Hubbard's last Navy report. He is rated at only 5/20 in both eyes (which glasses corrected to 12/20 and 14/20 in right and left respectively). This was certainly poor eyesight but whether it was "legal blindness" is doubtful. There is no record in his file of him having been declared "legally blind". | |
| February 16, 1946 | L. Ron Hubbard, US Navy | L. Ron Hubbard is honorably released from active duty in the US Navy. | |
| May 22, 1946 | Aleister Crowley telegram | Aleister Crowley cables his US office after reading reports from his branch headquarters in America and Jack Parsons's accounts of the occult ceremony he had performed with L. Ron Hubbard: "Suspect Ron playing confidence trick--Jack Parsons weak fool--obvious victim prowling swindlers." In a letter a few days later he said, "It seems to me on the information of our brethren in California that Parsons has got an illumination in which he lost all his personal independence. From our brother's account he has given away both his girl and his money. Apparently it is the ordinary confidence trick." | |
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