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L. Ron Hubbard was the inventor of Dianetics and founder of Scientology. Born in Tilden, Nebraska in March 1911, Hubbard grew up with his family in Helena, Montana. He was unusually well-traveled for a young man of his time due to his father's frequent relocations in connection with his service in the United States Navy. He lived in a number of locations in the United States and traveled to Guam, the Philippines, China, and Japan. He enrolled at George Washington University in 1930 to study civil engineering, but dropped out in his second year. While at GWU, he organized an expedition to the Caribbean for fellow students which looms large in his official biography but was a flop according to contemporary accounts. He subsequently spent time in Puerto Rico panning for gold, before returning to the United States, marrying his pregnant girlfriend, and embarking on a career as a "penny-a-word" writer. The Church of Scientology depicts Hubbard in hagiographic terms and draws on his legacy as its ultimate source of doctrine and legitimacy.〔Christensen, p. 228〕 The Danish historian of religions Dorthe Refslund Christensen notes that many aspects of the official version of Hubbard's early life parallel more conventional religious narratives, notably the life of Jesus.〔 Many details of Hubbard's early life remain disputed; critics of Scientology cast doubt on whether he had the educational and personal background claimed by the Church.〔Christensen, p. 232〕 ==Family and ancestry== Lafayette Ronald Hubbard was born on March 13, 1911, in Tilden, Nebraska.〔Hall, Timothy L. ''American religious leaders'', p. 175. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2003. ISBN 978-0-8160-4534-1〕 He was the only child of Harry Ross Hubbard, a former United States Navy sailor who worked as a newspaper employee at the time of his son's birth, and Ledora May Waterbury, a housewife who had originally trained as a teacher.〔Miller, p. 11〕〔Christensen, pp. 236–7〕 L. Ron was named after his maternal grandfather, Lafayette "Lafe" O. Waterbury.〔 After moving to Kalispell, Montana, the family settled in 1913 in the state capital, Helena.〔 Hubbard's father worked as a manager and bookkeeper, first for a local theater〔Miller, p. 15〕 and later for a coal company owned by his father-in-law.〔Miller, p. 18〕 The elder Hubbard re-enlisted in the Navy when the United States entered World War I in April 1917, while his mother Ledora May worked as a clerk for the state government.〔Miller, p. 19〕 Some early Scientology biographies present a fictitious family heritage for Hubbard. According to an account published in the Church of Scientology's ''Ability'' magazine in 1959, Hubbard was "descended from Count de Loup who entered England with the Norman invasion and became the founder of the English de Wolfe family which emigrated to America in the 17th century. On his father's side, from the English Hubbards, who came to America in the 19th century."〔 The story went that Count de Loup (or de Loupe) was a French courtier who saved the King of France from an attack by a wolf; the grateful monarch bestowed the title of Count de Loupe, which was eventually anglicized to "De Wolf", the name of Hubbard's maternal grandfather. No records exist to substantiate this story.〔Miller, p. 8〕 Harry Ross Hubbard was an orphan, born Henry August Wilson in August 1886, who had been adopted by an Iowa farming couple by the name of Hubbard. The couple changed his given names to Harry Ross.〔 A biographical profile published by the Church of Scientology in 1973 states that the young Hubbard "spent many of his childhood years on a large cattle ranch in Montana" that was owned by his wealthy grandfather, Lafe Waterbury.〔"About The Author", in Hubbard, L. Ron: ''Have you lived before this life?: A scientific survey : a study of death and evidence of past lives'', p. 297. Church of Scientology Publications Organization, 1977. ISBN 978-0-88484-055-8〕 According to Church accounts, Hubbard passed long days on the ranch "riding, breaking broncos, hunting coyote and taking his first steps as an explorer."〔 Another Church biography describes his grandfather as a "wealthy Western cattleman" from whom Hubbard "inherited his fortune and family interests in America, Southern Africa, etc."〔Rolph, p. 17〕 Contemporary records and Hubbard's relatives contradict this depiction. Hubbard's grandfather, Lafe Waterbury, briefly owned a plot of land covering 320 acres (0.5 mi2) near Kalispell, where he pastured horses and worked as a veterinarian. A local city directory for 1913 stated Waterbury's assets as a relatively modest $1,550.〔Atack, p. 48〕 The Hubbards and Waterburys lived in a pair of townhouses, not a ranch, in the center of Helena, only two blocks from each other and not far from the Montana State Capitol.〔Miller, p. 17〕 They also owned a small plot outside the city. Hubbard's aunt told the ''Los Angeles Times'' in 1990 that the family did not have a ranch, "just several acres (with) a barn on it. ... We had one cow (and) four or five horses."〔Sappell, Joel; Welkos, Robert (June 24, 1990). "(The Making of L. Ron Hubbard: Creating the Mystique )". ''Los Angeles Times'', p. A38:1〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Early life of L. Ron Hubbard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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