jim jones
Jim Jones biography
Synopsis
Jim Jones was a cult leader born on May 13, 1931 near Lynn, Indiana. As the self-proclaimed messiah of the Peoples Temple religious cult, Jones promised his followers utopia if they followed him. On November 18, 1978, in what became known as the Jonestown Massacre, Jones led over 900 men, women and children to their deaths in a mass suicide via cyanide-laced punch (spawning the metaphor, “Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid”).
Jonestown Massacre
Religious cult leader. Born in 1931 in Lynn, Indiana. An influential Indianapolis preacher, Jones formed the People's Temple in 1955, which he moved to California in the late 1960s. After Jones became the subject of criminal investigations, particularly with regard to his alleged diversion of cult members' donations for his personal use, he and about 1,000 followers relocated to Jonestown, Guyana, in 1977.
In November 1978, cult members killed Congressman Leo J. Ryan as he attempted to leave the People's Temple compound after an investigatory visit. The following day, Jones orchestrated the mass suicide of more than 900 followers, who were compelled to drink cyanide-laced punch. Jones died the same day of a bullet wound to the head.
Quick Facts
- NAME: James Warren Jones
- OCCUPATION: Cult Leader
- BIRTH DATE: May 13, 1931
- DEATH DATE: November 18, 1978
- EDUCATION: Indiana University, Bloomington, Butler University
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Crete, Indiana
- PLACE OF DEATH: Jonestown, Guyana
- AKA: Jim Jones
Best Known For
Jim Jones was best known as the cult leader of the Peoples Temple who led over 900 followers in a mass suicide via cyanide-laced punch known as the Jonestown Massacre.
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