Earl E. Olson

Earl Eidswold Olson was born on May 17, 1916, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Beginning at the age of 17, he spent his career of 52 years working for the Historian’s Office and the Historical Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His responsibilities included Historical Compiler, Supervisor Genealogical Society Archives, Assistant Librarian, Assistant Church Historian to Joseph Fielding Smith, Church Archivist, Church Historian and Assistant Managing Director. Richard E. Turley, Jr. said that Olson “focused on the acquisition, organization and preservation of historical documents and was particularly interested in compilations of information. Perhaps the most visible result of his work is the statistics in the annual Deseret News Church Almanac.”[1]

Olson served a mission to Denmark and then served in the U.S. Army for four years during World War II.

He and his wife, Verene, had three children. Olson passed away on December 7, 2010.