Honoring the 100th Anniversary of
L. Ron Hubbard Becoming the Nation’s Youngest Eagle Scout

 

L. Ron Hubbard joined the Boy Scouts in Tacoma, Washington, in 1923, in the early years of Scouting, a movement founded by Robert Baden-Powell in 1910. By the spring of 1924, Ron had not only earned an impressive 21 badges, he also led Washington, D.C. Troop 10 to victory in the Washington Post–sponsored Scout Advancement Competition and was one of four youths to represent Scouting at President Calvin Coolidge’s Presidential Celebration of National Boys’ Week. Five days later, two weeks after celebrating his 13th birthday, L. Ron Hubbard became the nation’s youngest Eagle Scout.

March 25, 2024, marked this golden anniversary. Representatives of the Church of Scientology received an array of awards and acknowledgments on his behalf in recognition of this accomplishment and his life of service, including:

• A letter of recognition from the President of the National Eagle Scout Association honoring the centennial of L. Ron Hubbard becoming a Scout
• A Pacific Harbors Council certificate of recognition and a trail named in his honor at Camp Thunderbird
• A letter of recognition from the Boy Scouts of America executive director
• A certificate from the U.S. House of Representatives

Mr. Hubbard was also recognized by the U.S. Forest Service (Olympic National Forest) in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act, for photographs he took as a Scout on his Kodak Autographic Model camera when he led hikes from Camp Parsons into the wilderness areas of Olympic National Forest.

He was also part of a team of 13 Eagle Scouts from western Washington state who built Eagle Trail on Mt. Rainier in 1925—one of the first trails built by Eagle Scouts for the National Park Service, a tradition that continues today.

“Of all the various information which became important to me,” wrote Mr. Hubbard, “such as photography, woodlore, signaling and many other subjects, the basis of it was laid in Scouting. I am very indebted to a great many, very fine men who gave their time and attention to a restless, boisterous and extremely active boy and teenager, and I must have tried their patience many times but I never heard of it from them.”

In its 2015 Collector’s Edition, Smithsonian Magazine featured L. Ron Hubbard as one of the 100 most significant Americans of all time and among the 11 most influential religious figures in American history.

Described as a man who lived 20 lifetimes in the span of one, he was a best-selling author who holds the Guinness World Record for the most published works by one author. His extraordinary discoveries on the human mind and spirit led to his founding of Scientology—the world’s youngest major religion and the only major religion with the voice of its Founder intact, recorded in public lectures delivered over the course of a quarter-century.

L. Ron Hubbard: In His Own Voice is a Scientology Network original series of autobiographical vignettes of Mr. Hubbard in his own words and his own voice. Watch it on the Scientology Network on DIRECTV Channel 320, DIRECTV STREAM, AT&T U-verse, and streaming at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps, and via the Roku, Amazon Fire, and Apple TV platforms. Since launching with an introduction by Mr. David Miscavige in March 2018, the Scientology Network has been viewed in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide in 17 languages. Scientology Network launches its new season Monday, April 15.