Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, known as L. Ron Hubbard, was a prolific American author and the founder of Scientology. Born on March 13, 1911, in Tilden, Nebraska, Hubbard spent much of his childhood in Helena, Montana. During the late 1920s, while his father was posted to the U.S. naval base on Guam, Hubbard traveled to Asia and the South Pacific.

In 1930, he enrolled at George Washington University to study civil engineering but dropped out in his second year. Hubbard began his career as a writer of pulp science fiction and fantasy novels and married Margaret Grubb, who shared his interest in aviation.

Hubbard served as an officer in the Navy during World War II and briefly commanded two ships. After the war, he sought psychiatric help from a veteran's charity hospital in Georgia. During this time, he began writing what would become Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, published in 1950. Following the bankruptcy loss of intellectual rights to Dianetics, he founded Scientology in 1952.

Hubbard led the Church of Scientology, described variously as a cult, a new religious movement, or a business, until his death in 1986. His work included organizational management strategies, principles of pedagogy, a theory of communication, and strategies for healthy living. Hubbard spent the later part of his life in seclusion, attended by a small group of Scientology officials.