Quentin Hubbard
Geoffrey Quentin McCaully Hubbard (6 January1954 – 28 October1976), was the son of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. His father had groomed his son to take over the organization for him, but Quentin's personality was ill-suited for being the leader of an international religious denomination. Personally he wanted little to do with Scientology. Quentin was found dead on October 28, 1976 of an apparent suicide.
Life
Geoffrey Quentin McCaully Hubbard was born on January 6, 1954 as the son of L. Ron Hubbard and Mary Sue Hubbard. Quentin wanted to be a pilot, but his father insisted he dedicate himself to the Church and rise through its hierarchy.
However, Quentin was too timid and polite to take control over such an organization and had little interest in Scientology. His homosexuality caused him a great deal of personal torment due to the widespread homophobia of the era and his father's creation of a new religion that officially categorized homosexuals as "sexual pervert[s]" and "quite ill physically".[1] His unmaterialized dream was to become an airplane pilot [1] [2].
Death
Quentin's severe depression led to his first suicide attempt in 1974, but he never received any mental health services, as Scientologists feel that mental health professionals use drugs in order to enslave the human race. In 1976, he disappeared from his home in Clearwater, Florida and his body was later found in a car in Las Vegas. It is believed that he committed suicide in his car through carbon monoxide poisoning, although his toxic screen came back negative for drugs and carbon monoxide in his body. [3] His wallet was gone, and the license plate of the car was missing and found under a rock some distance away. [4]
Controversy
Some have suggested that Quentin was murdered by Scientologists because he was gay and was planning to leave the Church to go to flight training school. [5] [6] [7].
Notes
- ↑ L. Ron Hubbard: Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. 1985 edition Auflage. Bridge Publications, Los Angeles, CA 1985, ISBN 0-88404-219-7, Part 2, Chapter 5, S. 140: „The sexual pervert (and by this term Dianetics, to be brief, includes any and all forms of deviation in dynamic two such as homosexuality, lesbianism, sexual sadism, etc., and all down the catalog of Ellis and Krafft-Ebing) is actually quite ill physically.“