Kirby J. Hensley

Kirby James Hensley (July 23, 1911 - March 19, 1999) was an American political and religious activist, the founder and original president of the Universal Life Church, two-time nominee for president of the United States as candidate of the Universal Party, and self-declared king of Aqualandia.

Political Campaigns
As the Universal Party candidate for U.S. President, Hensley ran in 1964 with John O. Hopkins as his Vice Presidential co-candidate, and 1968 with Roscoe MacKenna for VP. By 1970, Hensley had abandoned the Universal Party and formed the Peoples' Peace Prosperity Party (PPPP), which he followed up by making a bid for the Governorship of California on the Peace & Freedom Party ticket, receiving little attention for his effort. Again, in 1972, Hensley ran for president on the PPPP ticket, running against the Universal Party's candidate Gabriel Green, who drew more attention and more votes, though neither made quite the splash they might've hoped.

Reading

 * &mdash; a biographical account of Hensley's life and work