Robert Anton Wilson (January 18, 1932 - January 11, 2007) [Related: Playboy, Illuminatus!, JFK Assassination]

Acclaimed American author, psychologist, religious figurehead, and proponent of recreational psychedelics and narcotics. The career of Robert Anton Wilson, or RAW as he was often known, culminated in a long and aggressively self-aggrandizing stint as a futurist and mystic. RAW was perhaps best known for his popularisation of Discordianism throughout his 35 novels, especially the critically successful Illuminatus! Trilogy (1975). As a child, RAW suffered from polio, the symptoms of which were reportedly relieved only with the Kenny Method1. The illness’s effects would persist throughout his life, causing him minor muscle spasms that necessitated his intermittent use of a cane, or which he owned many.

Wilson's literary career began as a freelance writer for Playboy and various pseudo-scientific journals, covering subjects ranging from telekinesis, clairvoyance, metaphysics, and the all together paranormal - uniting his interests under the self-ascribed banner of "quantum psychology". Looking to capitalize on the robust traffic generated by RAW's articles, the publication hired him to edit the "Playboy Forum" - a haphazard and lawless "letter to the editor" section2. After his tenure at the "Bunny Empire", RAW enrolled at Paideia University3, receiving his PhD in psychology4. His masterwork, the Illuminatus! Trilogy, established the basic tenets of discordianism, outlining the 23 Enigma, general purposeless mischief (AKA Operation Mindfuck), and chaos engineering into a system he dubbed guerilla ontology. Famously, RAW's book was the central ransom item in the "Kenneth Lamar Noid Incident" at a Domino's Pizza in Chamblee, Georgia. Parties influenced by Wilson's work include David Icke, Steve Jackson Games, and the KLF - a discordian musical group famous for the voluntary burning of 1,000,000 British pounds.