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Dianetics
was a best seller when it was first published in 1950. From this
success, even though the book itself claimed to be a self-help manual,
Hubbard started classes on how to practice Dianetics and created
the Hubbard Dianetics Foundation. At one of his lectures, Hubbard
allegedly left his baby Alexis in his unattended car, and was given
a 10-day suspended sentence [Los Angeles Examiner, 2/26/51
On
December 18, 1953 Hubbard incorporated the Church
of American Science, The Church
of Spiritual Engineering, and the Church
of Scientology. Hubbard described the Church of American Science:
Part
of the Church of Scientology’s goals were delineated as “to
train and indoctrinate ministers and brothers in the principles
and teachings of the Church of American Science.” With this,
Hubbard became the founder and leader of what he therein called
a religion. Hubbard consolidated his control over Dianetics and Scientology and began opening new centers around the world. He published many more books such as Science of Survival, Have You Lived Before This Life? and Scientology 8-8008. In
1959 Hubbard, who was now claiming a PhD and a degree in nuclear
physics, moved to Sussex England and opened a school of Scientology.
Problems
kept plaguing his creation, however. In 1963 the FDA raided the
Scientology office in Washington D.C. and took away all their e-meters.
In 1965 an Australian Board of Inquiry published a scathing review
of Scientology and recommended banning the organization. After being
kicked out of Rhodesia in 1966, Hubbard returned to England, where
there were calls for inquiry into Scientology as well. Hubbard chose
to purchase three ships and headed to the high seas in 1967, with
his ships manned by Scientologists who had signed billion year contracts
to be a part of the Sea Organization. Hubbard
continued to write and “research” prolifically. He wrote
books, policy letters, advices, and management directives. In 1968
Hubbard’s alleged research into man led him to a discovery
that he claimed nearly killed him. Operating Thetan level 3 is a
restored accurate history of mankind, according to Hubbard. This
involved incidents from 75 million years ago that were previously
hidden until Hubbard’s brave efforts once again uncovered our
actual past. As
Hubbard’s paranoia about a cabal of psychiatrists taking over
the world grew and different countries began denying port rights
to his ships, Hubbard began looking for a “land base.”
He chose Clearwater, Florida in 1975. As his crew settled into new
properties purchased in Clearwater under the name United Churches
of Florida, Hubbard
lived quietly in nearby Dunedin, still very much in control of the
organization. From this time forward Hubbard was generally either
in hiding or at least avoiding public scrutiny. In
1977 the FBI raided Scientology in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
From this raid 11 Scientologists, including Hubbard’s wife
Mary Sue, went to federal prison for infiltrating government offices
and theft of documents. Hubbard, in hiding, never came to his wife’s
defense despite being complicit in the offenses. From
Dunedin Hubbard had moved to La Quinta California to a ranch. There
he passed his time making training and other movies for Scientology.
In 1979 he lived for a time in Hemet after fearing his La Quinta
location would be exposed. By
1980 Hubbard’s direct control of Scientology had been gradually
diminished due to his isolation. Those who controlled his communication
lines, including David Miscavige, inherited the power and authority
within the organization. Miscavige wrestled control from Mary Sue
Hubbard and from then on has been the authority behind Scientology. In
1982 Hubbard’s fiction work Battlefield Earth hit the stands
with little applause. His 10-volume Mission Earth followed with
even less enthusiasm by the public. In
1983 Mary Sue Hubbard went to prison for her role in the Snow
White breakins, and L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. filed suit in court
claiming his father was either dead or too incapacitated to manage
his own affairs. Hubbard Sr. did not show up in court but filed
signed and fingerprinted handwritten papers that demonstrated he
was still alive and functioning. Gerry Armstrong, a Scientology
aide to Hubbard’s official biographer, left the organization
with many of Hubbard’s personal biographical papers, much of
which proved Hubbard’s account of his life was indeed fictional.
It was a time of pressure and disappointment to say the least. On January 24, 1986, L. Ron Hubbard died in his final hideout in Creston California. Those attending his body claimed Hubbard’s religious beliefs precluded an autopsy. An initial examination of the body found that despite his anti-psychiatric stand throughout his life, the prescription drug Vistaril was found in his system. L. Ron Hubbard’s body was cremated and his ashes sprinkled in the Pacific Ocean.
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