-
May Otis Blackburn and her daughter, Ruth Wieland, arrive in Los Angeles, California.
-
Blackburn claims to have had a vision of the Virgin Mary, who tells her to start a new religious movement. She begins holding seances and recruiting followers.
-
Blackburn and her followers establish the Church of the New and Universal Dawn. They claim to be able to communicate with the dead and offer spiritual guidance and healing.
-
Blackburn's husband, a physician named Dr. Ernest Clarence "C.E." Blackburn, joins the cult and becomes its medical advisor.
-
A wealthy socialite named Emma LeDoux becomes a follower of Blackburn and donates a large sum of money to the cult.
-
A young woman named Mattie Lee Overstreet dies while undergoing a cult-mandated fast. Blackburn and several cult members are arrested and charged with manslaughter.
-
Blackburn is convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to ten years in prison. Her daughter Ruth and several other cult members are also convicted and sentenced to prison.
-
The cult continues to operate without Blackburn, who is serving her sentence at San Quentin State Prison.
-
Blackburn is released from prison after serving five years. She and her daughter continue to lead the cult, which has been renamed the Divine Order of the Royal Arms of the Great Eleven.
-
Blackburn and Ruth are arrested again, this time on charges of mail fraud related to the sale of "miracle" cures. They are found guilty and sentenced to prison.
1941: Blackburn is released from prison after serving seven years. She and Ruth disband the cult and retire to a small apartment in Los Angeles. -
May Otis Blackburn dies in her apartment at the age of 73.