L. Ron Hubbard (1911 - 1986), often referred to by his initials, LRH, was an American author and the founder of the Church of Scientology. Hubbard established his career as a writer with science fiction and fantasy novels, including the novel Battlefield Earth, which was adapted into a feature film in 2000. Starting in the 1950s, Hubbard created a system called Dianetics, which is a wide-ranging set of doctrines and practices that became the foundation of the religious movement Scientology.