Robert Gordon Wasson (RGW) is known for his pioneering work in the field of mycology. Wasson’s work profoundly shaped and altered the perception of hallucinogens, bringing awareness to the use of hallucinogenic mushrooms in Mazatec rituals. His discoveries were popularized and disseminated in a 1957 LIFE magazine article. His contributions to the field of ethno-mycology, brought him into contact with figures such as Richard Schultes, Bern Dibner, and Albert Hofmann.

Richard Gordon Wasson was born on September 22, 1898 in Great Falls, Montana. He grew up in Newark, New Jersey and attended public schools. In 1917, R. Gordon Wasson enlisted as a private and served in the American Expeditionary Forces in France as a radio operator. Following WWI, R.G. Wasson attended the Columbia School of Journalism, where he later taught English from 1921-22. He received the first Pulitzer Traveling Scholarship award and studied at the London School of Economics. Returning to the United States, Richard taught English at Columbia University 1921-1922. He then became a reporter for the New Haven Register. He moved to New York in 1925 and became associate editor of the Current Opinion magazine; later, he wrote a financial column for the New York Herald Tribune. R.Gordon married his wife Valentine Pavlovna Guercken in 1926.

In 1928, he joined the staff of Guaranty Company in New York City, with extended assignments in Argentina and London. It was during the period 1929-1931 in Buenos Aires that Richard became acquainted with the writings of W.H. Hudson. In 1934, he joined the J.P. Morgan Company where he pioneered banking public relations. He retired from his international banking duties at J.P. Morgan in 1963, having served as a vice-president from 1943. R.G. Wasson later transitioned to the world of finance and banking, serving as an employee of the Guaranty Trust Company in New York City in 1928. Beginning in 1934 Wasson held the position of Vice President of Public Relations at J.P. Morgan. Likely due to his connection to Morgan, in 1941 Wasson published his first edition of "The Hall Carbine Affair: A Study in Contemporary Folklore," which was largely an attempt to deny accusations that J.P. Morgan had orchestrated the sale of condemned arms to the government during the Civil War.

While Robert's career was in banking, he is better known for his passion projects and for his contributions to the field of ethnomycology, anthropology and biology. Wasson’s publications explore the relationship between mushrooms and religion. Robert is regarded as the "father of ethnomycology," but in recent years scholars have shown that his wife, Valentina, was a partner in his research and deserves equal credit in his research. In 1957 The Wasson’s published their groundbreaking work, Mushrooms, Russia and History, which was awarded the Sarah Gildersleeve Fife Memorial Award. Throughout his career he identified several species in collaboration with other prominent botanists. Other publications include titles such as Soma: Divine Mushroom of Immortality and Maria Sabina and Her Mazatec Mushroom Velada, among others.