John Gordon Clark Explained

John Gordon Clark
Birth Date:	1926
Birth Place:	United States
Death Date:	1999
Death Place:	Massachusetts
Field:	psychiatry
Work Institution:	Harvard University
Alma Mater:	Harvard Medical School, M.D. Macalester College, B.S.
Known For:	research on cults
Prizes:	Psychiatrist of the Year, Psychiatric Times, 1991

John 'Jack' Gordon Clark (1926–1999) was a Harvard psychiatrist known for his research on the alleged damaging effects of cults.^[1]

He was the target of harassment from the Church of Scientology after he testified against it to the Vermont legislature in 1976.^[2]

The Psychiatric Times, when naming him 1991 psychiatrist of the year, described him as "a quiet, courageous man of conviction, who was fighting an all-too-lonely and unappreciated battle against well-financed, ruthless organizations."

Works

• Clark, John G. Cults. Journal of the American Medical Association. 242, 279–281. 1979
• Clark, John G.: On the further study of destructive cultism. In Halperin (ed.), 363–368

Notes and References

1. Dr. John Clark, 73, Psychiatrist was authority on danger of cults, Tom Long, Globe Staff, 10/09/99, The Boston Globe
2. John Clark, 73, Psychiatrist Who Studied Sects, New York Times, October 18, 1999, Eric Nagourney, "The Church of Scientology objected strongly to Clark's assertions, and the church and Clark battled in court. Clark said the church had engaged in a campaign of harassment against him. In 1988, he settled with the church and received an undisclosed amount of money, but agreed never to discuss the group publicly again."