Jack Parsons, RIP

May 7, 1938

 

Above, John W. "Jack" Parsons poses with his replica of the pipe bomb used in an attempt to kill Harry Raymond. Parsons, one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is an enigmatic figure who became the subject of much speculation surrounding a "mystery cult" after he died in a 1952 explosion. The blast destroyed his home laboratory on the former Busch estate in Pasadena and his grief-stricken mother committed suicide when she learned he had died.

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