Every once in a great while, you learn about a person you've never heard of before just to find out they have more than one claim to fame. Jack Parsons had way more than that. Parsons developed an interest in rocketry in the 1920s. In the 1930s, he dropped out of college. In the 1940s, he became an explosives expert, co-founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory along with other institutions, dabbled in communism, joined a religious cult founded by Alistair Crowley named Thelema, lost his adulterous lover to his housemate L. Ron Hubbard, tried to conjure up a goddess to re-order the world, and lost his security clearance due to his advocacy of "sexual perversion." In the 1950s, Parsons managed to kill himself.
Jstor Daily has an overview of Jack Parsons and his short but incredibly eventful life. Then you'll want to read a more detailed account at Wikipedia. -via Damn Interesting
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u had me at "l ron hubbard"
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For a much more thorough view on him, and on the scientists who he collaborated with, there's a very good podcast season. https://laist.com/podcasts/la-made/blood-sweat-rockets-the-suicide-squad
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