Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American science fiction author^[2] who developed a self-help system called Dianetics, which was first published in 1950. Over the following three decades, Hubbard developed his self-help ideas into a wide-ranging set of doctrines and rituals as part of a new religion he called Scientology. Hubbard's writings became the guiding texts for the Church of Scientology and a number of affiliated organizations that address such diverse topics as business administration, literacy and drug rehabilitation.^[3]

(... from Wikipedia on 2010-7-31 13:46:46* )