Keith W. Olson (born 4 August 1931) is an American author, historian and lecturer specializing in twentieth-century history in the United States. He was born in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

and attended Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in nearby

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

. Olson later attended the State University at Albany and received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His most notable book, "The G.I Bill, the Veterans, and the Colleges", was runner-up for the

Frederick Jackson Turner Award The Frederick Jackson Turner Award, is given each year by the Organization of American Historians for an author's first book on American history. It was started in 1959, by Mississippi Valley Historical Association, as the Prize Studies Award. ...

from the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad inc ...

and is included in the "100 Classic Books on Higher Education" (2001). Olson also has published numerous essays, articles and reviews and has appeared on radio and television, including the History Channel and

C-SPAN Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...

, discussing twentieth-century presidential history in the United States. Olson was named Professor

Emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

and also served as a

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

Professor three times in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. He is also an honorary member of the Finnish Historical Society, and received an honorary PhD from the University of Tampere, Finland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olson, Keith W 1931 births Living people Writers from Poughkeepsie, New York University at Albany, SUNY alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Maryland, College Park alumni 20th-century American historians 20th-century American male writers Writers from Maryland Historians from New York (state) American male non-fiction writers