Kerry Wendell Thornley
Founding Figure
1938 – 1998
Who was Kerry Wendell Thornley?
Kerry Wendell Thornley is known as the co-founder of Discordianism, in which context he is usually known as Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst or simply Lord Omar. He and Hill authored the religion's seminal text Principia Discordia, Or, How I Found Goddess, And What I Did To Her When I Found Her. Thornley was also known for his 1962 manuscript, The Idle Warriors, which was based on the activities of his acquaintance, Lee Harvey Oswald, prior to the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Thornley was highly active in the countercultural publishing scene, writing for a number of underground magazines and newspapers, and self-publishing many one-page newsletters of his own. One such newsletter called Zenarchy was published in the 1960s under the pen name Ho Chi Zen. "Zenarchy" is described in the introduction of the collected volume as "the social order which springs from meditation", and "A noncombative, nonparticipatory, no-politics approach to anarchy intended to get the serious student thinking."
Raised Mormon, in adulthood Kerry shifted his ideological focus frequently, in rivalry with any serious countercultural figure of the 1960s.
We need you!
Help us build the largest biographies collection on the web!
- Born
- Apr 17, 1938
Whittier - Nationality
- United States of America
- Died
- Nov 28, 1998
Atlanta
Submitted
on July 23, 2013
Citation
Use the citation below to add to a bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Kerry Wendell Thornley." Biographies.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 May 2024. <https://www.biographies.net/people/en/kerry_thornley>.
Discuss this Kerry Wendell Thornley biography with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In