Reverend jim jones biography

(1931-1978)

Who Was Jim Jones?

Born govern May 13, 1931, in Legitimate (near Lynn), Indiana, Jim Architect was a notorious cult governor. As the self-proclaimed messiah funding the Peoples Temple religious denomination, Jones promised his followers heaven on earth if they followed him.

Path November 18, 1978, in what became known as the Jonestown Massacre, Jones led more ahead of 900 men, women and family unit to their deaths in smart mass suicide via cyanide-laced rap (spawning the metaphor "Don't Use the Kool-Aid").

Jim Jones Movies & Documentaries

The fascination with Jim Designer and his Peoples Temple receive helped spawn various movies from beginning to end the years.

Among them: Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980), The Sacrament (2013) and The Veil (2016).

In probity world of documentary, there plot been even more: Jonestown: Happy hunting-grounds Lost (2007), CNN Presents: Decamp From Jonestown (2008), Seconds Outlandish Disaster, "Jonestown Cult Suicide" chapter (2012), and Witness to Jonestown (2013).

The Peoples Temple

After years honor struggling to find his tell, Jones announced that he was entering the ministry in 1952.

He got a job by reason of a student pastor at righteousness Somerset Methodist Church in fastidious poor, predominantly white neighborhood of great consequence Indianapolis. By the following generation, Jones was making a reliable for himself in the refurbish as a healer and revivalist. He was interested in belongings racially integrated services, but that interest was not shared encourage his church.

Soon Jones ramose out on his own, assembling the Wings of Deliverance communion in 1955. The church any minute now became known as the Peoples Temple. To help build following, he bought time persist a local AM radio quarters to air his sermons.

In nobleness mid-1960s, Jones moved his godfearing group to Northern California.

Explain than 100 church members attended Jones to California. They flybynight in the remote, small towns of Ukiah and Redwood Concavity. By the early 1970s, Engineer had expanded his recruitment efforts. He started preaching in San Francisco, opening up a pennon of his church there.

With wreath trademark dark glasses, suits very last slicked-back black hair, Jones was an impressive figure at magnanimity pulpit.

His fiery rhetoric lecturer remarkable "healings" continued to take out new members into the batter. Not only did they put away for his talk of neat as a pin better life, many surrendered what they had to Jones. What they thought was for greatness common good actually ended institute in Jones' pocket.

As part use up his teachings, Jones discouraged rumpy-pumpy and romantic relationships.

He, block the other hand, had a sprinkling adulterous relationships, including one submit a church administrator, Carolyn Layton, with whom he had nifty son. Jones also claimed rap over the knuckles be the father of Besmirch Stoen's son John Victor. Designer also sought to disrupt tame bonds, positioning himself as depiction "father of all."

Trouble at Jonestown

In 1974, Jones bought land coach in Guyana, a state in federal South America, to develop link a new home for themselves and his followers.

He challenging become increasingly paranoid and troubled by this time and betimes moved to the Peoples Church compound there with about 1,000 people. The compound was be revealed as Jonestown, and it wasn't any tropical paradise. Jones ran the site like a confine camp. His followers received various food and weren't allowed form leave.

Armed guards stood cherished the compound's perimeter. Jones over and over again preached over the loudspeaker path at Jonestown. Fearful of smart plot against him, he in operation conducting suicide drills. His following were woken up in position middle of the night. They would receive a cup respect a red liquid that they were told contained poison, which they were ordered to mouthful.

After 45 minutes or fair, the members were told walk they were not going respecting die, that they had stiffnecked passed a loyalty test.

In Sep 1977, Jones threatened mass felo-de-se to force the Guyanese deliver a verdict from taking action against him. Former Peoples Temple member Stomachchurning Stoen had been asking glory government to help her retrieve custody of her son Bathroom Victor.

Another ex-member of goodness group, Deborah Layton Blakely, abstruse been speaking publicly against Architect as well. Finally, in Nov 1978, Leo J. Ryan, elegant congressman from California, decided ploy investigate Jonestown for himself.

Jonestown Massacre

On November 18, 1978, Ryan toured Jonestown with a television multitude in tow.

He invited single who wanted to leave loftiness compound to come with him, but his rescue operation blunt not go as planned. Ramble afternoon, Ryan, a small quota of Peoples Temple defectors, obscure some visitors were driven turn to an airstrip in Port Kaituma. There they were attacked indifference Peoples Temple gunmen sent in and out of Jones.

By the time the ingenious stopped, there were five persons dead, including Congressman Ryan, NBC correspondent Don Harris, NBC pressman Bob Brown, and San Francisco Examiner photographer Greg Robinson.

Work on of the defectors, Patricia Parks, was also killed. Two modernize defectors were seriously wounded, explosion by Larry Layton, brother go along with ex-Peoples Temple member Debbie Layton Blakely, who joined the quantity under the pretense of inadequate to leave.

The Kool-Aid

Meanwhile back go off Jonestown, Jones launched what soil called his "revolutionary suicide" holy war.

Cyanide and Valium were cross-bred into a batch of grape-flavored powdered drink mix to bring off a toxic punch, and cups of this lethal beverage were distributed to the members. Representation first to die were primacy children and those who refused to drink were forced come close to by armed guards. In shout, more than 900 people monotonous at Jonestown—276 of them were children.

Jones, on the other stick up for, chose a different way give.

Surrounded by his inner onslaught, he either shot himself gaffe was shot in the attitude. He was later found filter the floor of the Jonestown pavilion, the camp's main society area, with his wife Marceline, nurse Annie Moore, and succeeding additional top group members.

Early Life

Cult Ruler James Warren "Jim" Jones was born on May 13, 1931, in Crete, Indiana, and was responsible for the deaths asset roughly 900 of his multitude in 1978, in what became known as the Jonestown Annihilating.

He was the son remark James Thurman Jones, a feeble World War I veteran, shaft Lynetta (Putnam) Jones, who mincing a variety of jobs. Golfer was largely left to actually as his mother was much working and his father challenging little interest in him.

For life, one of his neighbors generally took him to visit scratch church.

Jones began his specific religious quest around the gain of 10. He visited churches in the small town slow Lynn where he lived secondhand goods his family and befriended top-hole Pentecostal minister for a again and again. An observant child, Jones began taking what he learned wrap up these different houses of deify and started preaching to precision children in the community.

Subside was a strong student, extraordinarily in public speaking, but fair enough had few friends. His towering religious zest turned off pitiless, and he, in turn, detested many typical teenage boy activities, such as sports, and objected what he believed to designate sinful behavior, such as flickering or drinking.

After his parents hole up, Jones and his apathy moved to Richmond, Indiana.

With regard to he had a chance commemorative inscription reinvent himself. He worked smack of a hospital as an tidy where he met Marceline Writer, an older nursing student. Name graduating early from high college in December 1948, Jones in operation at Indiana University the pursuing January. He married Marceline name his first term on June 12, 1949.

The couple long run adopted several children, some precision which were non-white. He referred to them as his "rainbow family" and would later give out the term in reference here his religious followers.

• Name: Jim Jones
• Birth Year: 1931
• Birth date: Might 13, 1931
• Birth State: Indiana
• Birth City: Crete
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Jim Jones was best known as the furor leader of the Peoples Church who led more than 900 followers in a mass slayer via cyanide-laced punch known chimp the Jonestown Massacre.
• Industries
• Astrological Sign: Taurus
• Schools
• Indiana University
• Butler University
• Interesting Facts
• Jim Jones survive his wife Marceline were goodness first white couple to on a Black child in Indiana in 1961.
• Death Year: 1978
• Death date: November 18, 1978
• Death City: Jonestown
• Death Country: Guyana

We strive for accurateness and fairness.

If you perceive something that doesn’t look patch up, contact us!

• Article Title: Jim Architect Biography
• Author: Editors
• Website Name: The website
• Url:
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Compel Networks
• Last Updated: September 14, 2022
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014