Culbert Levy Olson (PDF) was born on a farm near Fillmore, Utah. Olson was introduced to politics early in his life; his mother was a suffragette and the first female elected official in Utah, serving as Treasurer and Recorder of Millard County. Olson graduated from Brigham Young University in 1895 after studying law and journalism, and earned a law degree from Columbian University Law School in Washington D.C., (now George Washington University School of Law). He was admitted to the Utah Bar in 1901.
Olson practiced law in Utah and entered politics after being elected to the Utah State Senate, where he served from 1916 to 1920. Olson declined to run again for the State Senate in the 1920 general election, and instead relocated to Los Angeles, California. There Olson opened a law practice and gained a reputation for investigating corporate fraud. During this time, Olson remained active in public service and was named as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1920. He ran for and was elected to the California State Senate in 1934, was Chairman of the California Democratic Party in the same year, and was Assistant U.S. Attorney General from 1936 to 1937. On November 1938, Olson was elected Governor of California and was sworn in January 2, 1939..
Olson was a loyal supporter of Roosevelt's New Deal. Many Californians hoped that the new governor would create programs for the state similar to those being enacted by Congress. His agenda was largely overshadowed by the start of World War II and the shift to a war economy and Olson was able to accomplish a few modest reforms, primarily in the state's penal system and in provisions for the care of the mentally ill. Early in his administration, Olson fulfilled his campaign promise to pardon labor radical Tom Mooney; the Mooney Case had been the subject of intense controversy for decades.
After a challenging four years, Olson ran for a second term as Governor but was defeated by Earl Warren and left office on January 4, 1943. He remained active in politics by serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1944 and 1948. Olson died on April 13, 1962, and is buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, in Glendale, California.
Biography