Truth & Fiction: The Life of Ron

Over the last forty-five years, the Church of Scientology (and L. Ron Hubbard himself) have produced many versions of the life story of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology. These pages summarise these various biographies in one document, with links provided from each claim to background documents and, where relevant, to sections of Russell Miller's Bare-Faced Messiah.

NOTE TO SCIENTOLOGISTS: As the biographical claims on these pages come exclusively from Church sources, it is impeccably "theta". I invite you to read it and ask the obvious question: why is the Church's biography of L. Ron Hubbard so inconsistent and in many cases easily disprovable?


Family Details

Childhood

Education

Career to 1941

War Service

Post-war, pre-Dianetics

Dianetics

Scientology




CAREER TO 1941

1931: Acted as a director with the Caribbean Motion Picture Expedition.

1932: Conducted West Indies Minerals Survey, aged 21.

1933: Led Caribbean Motion Picture Expedition.

1933-4: Led three expeditions to Central America.

1933-41: Wrote seven million words of published fact and fiction.

1934: Led West Indies Minerals Survey Expedition in 1934.

1935: Worked in Hollywood under motion picture contracts Columbia Pictures.

Many 'screen credits' on major stars and pictures.

1938: Wrote "sensational volume", Excalibur (but never published it).

1940: Elected a member of the Explorers' Club of New York.

1940: Led Alaskan Radio Experimental Expedition for US Government.

1940: Obtained Mariners' License from US Dept. of Commerce.


CAREER 1941-45

1941: Commissioned US Naval Reserve.

Served in South Pacific.

1941: Served as a captain of corvettes.

1942: First US casualty in Far East, 1942; flown home in Secretary of Navy's private plane.

1942: Relieved by "fifteen officers of rank" and posted to North Atlantic corvettes.

1943: Commodore of corvette squadrons.

1944-45: Amphibious forces.

1944: Severely wounded and taken, crippled and blinded, to Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, CA.

1945: Served in Office of Provost Marshall, Korea.

1945: Left Oak Knoll Hospital after a year's convalescence.

Served in all five theatres of World War II. [Atlantic, Pacific, Europe, Asia & Africa.]

Awarded 21 medals and palms.


CAREER POST-WAR

No longer in Navy or on call. No draft liability as drawing full disability compensation.

1946 on: Hollywood director and writer.

1946: Broke up black magic ring in California.

1948: Wrote Dianetics: The Original Thesis

1950: Resigned commission in Navy after four years on inactive list.

1950: Wrote 'several best selling' books on applied philosophy.

1950: Wrote Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health

1950: Refused to allow US Govt to use Dianetics "to make man more suggestible".

Organized the Hubbard Foundation to handle public interests.

Became director and trustee of several international humanitarian organizations.

1953: Awarded honorary Doctor of Philosophy in recognition of Dianetics.

1954: Foundation of the first Church of Scientology.

1957: Became a Fellow of the International Oceanographic Foundation, Miami, Florida.

1959: Won Saint Hill Manor, East Grinstead, England, in poker game.

1959: Revolutionised horticulture by finding that plants feel pain.

1965: L. Ron Hubbard elected to membership in National Geographic Society.

1965: Achievement of 'The World's First Real Clear'.

1967: Founded Sea Org and embarked on voyage to research past civilisations and past lives.

1967: OT III ["The Wall Of Fire"] released at Las Palmas, Canary Islands.

Bibliography

A Brief Biography of L. Ron Hubbard, 1959
Explorer's Log, Explorer's Journal, Feb. 1960
Facts About L. Ron Hubbard, Flag Divisional Directive of 8 Mar 1974
Mission Into Time, 1973, pp.
Oregon Journal, interview with LRH, 22 April 1943
A Report to Members of Parliament on Scientology, 1969, pp. 9-10
Statement by Church of Scientology, December 1969
What Is Scientology?, 1978 pp. , 1992 pp. .
www.scientology.org (Scientology Web site), 1996.