Oscar Wetherhold Riegel, also known as Tom, was born in Reading, PA in 1903. Riegel's professional career began as a reporter and editor for the Chicago Tribune in the 1920s. He then shifted his focus to the information gathering and application, attaining a Bachelor's degree in the field from Dartmouth College and later attending Washington and Lee University.

Riegel became an internationally-known expert on the topic of propaganda in the 1930s after extensive studies of its importance in modern politics. His monograph, Mobilizing for Chaos: The Story of the New Propaganda, was published in 1934 and focused on the role propaganda was playing in the rise of National Socialism in Germany. In his studies he amassed an extensive collection of American, European, and Asian propaganda spanning World War I through the Cold War. Aspects of his compilation of propaganda studies are included within this collection. Riegel joined the Washington and Lee University Journalism Department in 1930 and was named department head in 1934. He served as department head until his retirement in 1973. During his tenure with the university, he taught various courses on film, journalism, propaganda, and information application. He passed away in 1997 in Lexington, VA.