In Memoriam Keith W. Olson

In Memoriam Keith W. Olson

The Department of History has received sad news of the death of Keith Waldemar Olson, Professor Emeritus. He was 92 and died peacefully at his home in Shelburne, VT on June 8, 2024. He was a faculty member at the University of Maryland from 1966 to 2008. 

Keith Olson was born on August 4, 1931 in Poughkeepsie and was raised in Hyde Park, NY, the son and grandson of Swedish immigrants. He was a US Army veteran of the Korean War.  Subsequently, he earned degrees from the State University of NY (SUNY), Albany (BA 1957; MA 1959) and the PhD from the University of Wisconsin in 1964. He taught at Syracuse University before coming to the University of Maryland, College Park. 

Olson was a notable scholar of the twentieth-century United States, publishing an acclaimed first book, The G.I. Bill, the Veterans, and the Colleges (1974), a runner-up for the Frederick Jackson Turner Award of the Organization for American Historians. He published the authoritative Biography of a Progressive: Franklin K. Lane 1864-1921 (1979), and a well-respected study of Watergate: The Presidential Scandal That Shook America (2003), as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters. He was a frequent commentator on twentieth-century presidential history for radio and television.

Keith Olson won two awards for teaching at the University of Maryland, was a two-time Fulbright Fellow, teaching in Finland (1986-7, 1993-4), and in 2000, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Tampere, Finland. Proud of his Swedish heritage, he was active in the American Scandinavian Foundation and served as president of the Washington, DC/National Capital Area chapter 1977-9 and 1998-9. He was an avid runner for decades, which brought him much enjoyment. 

Keith was predeceased by his wife, Marilyn J. Wittschen, and is survived by two daughters and their families. A memorial gathering was held for him at Wake Robin Retirement Community, Shelburne, VT in August 2024.