Information on L. Ron Hubbard on the US Navy Chaplain Web site, Scientology page

The Scientology religion was developed by American author and humanitarian "Lafayette Ron Hubbard. It came from his lifelong passion to assist man to a higher plane of civilization and existence. Mr. Hubbard was not only a writer, one of the leading lights of the Golden Age of Science Fiction in the mid-1900s, but a full Renaissance man who was a recognized explorer with membership in the prestigious Explorer's Club, a captain of corvettes during World War II, and fully versed in 21 different professions.

Born in Tilden, NE on 1911-MAR-13, L. Ron Hubbard traveled extensively during his youth. He covered some quarter of a million miles by the time he was twenty years of age, including several trips to the Orient; directed two expeditions to the Caribbean, one of which was the first mineralogical survey of Puerto Rico.

It was during his travels in Asia where he viewed so much misery and want that he asked himself "why all this?" and "to what depths can man fall," and "what is he anyway?" He found that there was not much known about the true nature of man and became fascinated with this line of research which he made his life's work.