James Warren Jones was an American cult leader and mass murderer who led the Peoples Temple between 1955 and 1978. In what he termed "revolutionary suicide", Jones and the members of his inner circle planned and orchestrated a mass murder-suicide in his remote jungle commune at Jonestown, Guyana, on November 18, 1978. Jones and the events that occurred at Jonestown have had a defining influence on society's perception of cults.
Jones in 1977
Jones's first church in Indianapolis, Indiana.
William Branham (pictured in 1947) helped launch and popularize Jim Jones's ministry in 1956.
Father Divine was a major influence on Jones's ministry.
The Peoples Temple of the Disciples of Christ, originally Peoples Temple Full Gospel Church and commonly shortened to Peoples Temple, was an American new religious organization which existed between 1954 and 1978 and was affiliated with the Christian Church. Founded by Jim Jones in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Peoples Temple spread a message that combined elements of Christianity with communist and socialist ideology, with an emphasis on racial equality. After Jones moved the group to California in the 1960s and established several locations throughout the state, including its headquarters in San Francisco, the Temple forged ties with many left-wing political figures and claimed to have 20,000 members.
Jim Jones's first church in Indianapolis, Indiana
Peoples Temple headquarters, 1859 Geary Blvd., San Francisco, 1978
Peoples Temple members attend an anti-eviction rally at the International Hotel, San Francisco, January 1977.
Rev. Jim Jones receives a Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian award at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, January 1977.