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	Attending George Washington University, Mr. Hubbard (top row, second from right) became a well-known figure as president of the university Glider Club and the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. His college days further saw the formal start of his literary career as an award-winning playwright and contributor to the GWU Hatchet literary review. Then, too, these days saw his work as a reporter and photographer for the Washington Herald, and even a balladeer on local radio station WOL.

     In 1948, while in Washington, he wrote the first critical manuscript detailing the basic principles of Dianetics. Though the manuscript did not see immediate publication, word of his discoveries soon spread, and to fullfil public demand, he published in 1950 the fundamental text on the subject, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. The book became an overnight bestseller. Thereafter, Mr. Hubbard's life ceased to be his own, and he undertook a whirlwind schedule lecturing to packed halls and training others in the procedures of Dianetics.

     More books followed, and as research continued, an entirely new, and previously unsuspected, realm opened. It was this realm, involving man's spiritual essence, that led to the founding of Scientology in 1952.

     The results of application of Mr. Hubbard's discoveries defied any precedent: IQ spectacularly raised, psychosomatic illness vanished and hitherto undreamed of ability was attained.

     As a result of the rapid growth of Scientology, and with his return to Washington in 1955, on July 21, the Founding Church of Scientology of Washington, DC was established at 1826 R Street, NW. A few doors down, at 1845 R Street, the first Academy of Scientology, where all levels of Scientology training could be studied, was founded. Concurrently, the first publications organization devoted to publishing Mr. Hubbard's works on Scientology was established in Silver Spring, Maryland, to provide Dianetics and Scientology materials worldwide.

L. Ron Hubbard supported his independent research into the mind and spirit of man through his own writings, publishing an average 100,000 words per month. L. Ron Hubbard (far left) earned his glider pilot license at Congressional Airfield just outside of Washington and quickly gained a reputation as one of the most outstanding pilots in the country.

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