Uploaded November 2012 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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Jim Jones founded the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis in 1956. Twenty-two years later, on November 19, 1978, he became notorious for leading his congregants in mass suicides in his utopian settlement, known as Jonestown. 918 people - including children -- lost their lives to suicide or were murdered. Congressman Leo J. Ryan was among them. NBC News reporter Don Harris and cameraman Robert Brown, on the scene covering events, were killed on the airstrip outside of Jonestown. Much of the footage on Jim Jones and Jonestown Massacre has been assembled into a compilation reel at NBC News Archives.
To screen this compilation click here: nbcuniversalarchives.com/nbcuni/clip/51A02171_s01.do
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Go to NBCUniversalArchives.com to license any portion of this video.
Jim Jones founded the Peoples Temple in Indianapolis in 1956. Twenty-two years later, on November 19, 1978, he became notorious for leading his congregants in mass suicides in his utopian settlement, known as Jonestown. 918 people - including children -- lost their lives to suicide or were murdered. Congressman Leo J. Ryan was among them. NBC News reporter Don Harris and cameraman Robert Brown, on the scene covering events, were killed on the airstrip outside of Jonestown. Much of the footage on Jim Jones and Jonestown Massacre has been assembled into a compilation reel at NBC News Archives.
To screen this compilation click here: nbcuniversalarchives.com/nbcuni/clip/51A02171_s01.do
"Like Us" on Facebook facebook.com/nbcuarchives
"Follow Us" on Twitter twitter.com/nbcuarchives
