The son of Anna and Albert Olsen, Arnold Olsen was born December 17, 1916 in Butte, Montana. After attending Butte public schools and the Montana School of Mines, he received a law degree from Montana State University (now the University of Montana) Law School and began his Butte law practice in 1940. Following four years of overseas duty in the Navy during the Second World War, Olsen married Margaret Williams, also of Butte, and together they had three children - Margaret Rae, Anna, and Karen. He was Attorney General for the State of Montana from 1949 to 1957. Choosing not to run for re-election as Attorney General, Olsen campaigned as the Democratic nominee for Montana Governor in 1956; however, he lost the general election to Republican J. Hugo Aronson. After an unsuccessful campaign for the Montana Supreme Court in 1958, Olsen was elected to represent Montana's western District in the U.S. House of Representatives on November 8, 1960. During his ten-year career in the House of Representatives Olsen served on the Public Works Committee, the Post Office and Civil Service Committee, and was the Chairman of the Postal Rates Subcommittee. Olsen returned to Montana in 1971 following his loss to Republican Richard Shoup and made an unsuccessful bid to recapture his former Congressional seat in 1972.
Olsen also belonged to such organizations as the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Veterans of World War II, Silver Bow Lodge AF & AM, Scottish Rite, Baghdad Temple of the Shrine, and the Scandinavian Fraternity of America. Governor Tom Judge appointed Olsen to the State District Court at Butte in 1975. Arnold Olsen continued to serve on the state bench until his death, October 9, 1990. He is buried in Butte, Montana.
From the guide to the Arnold Olsen Papers, 1956-1972, (University of Montana--Missoula Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library Archives and Special Collections)
