Lafayette Ronald Hubbard ( 13 March 1911 â `` 24 January 1986 ) was an American fiction writer and creator of Dianetics . He also authored Scientology . Lafayette Ronald Hubbard ( March 13 , 1911 - January 24 , 1986 ) , better known as L. Ron Hubbard ( and often referred to by his initials , LRH ) , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology .