Frederick Irving Olson was born on May 30, 1916 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Olson graduated from the Milwaukee Public School System in 1934 and subsequently earned a B.A. in 1938, M.A. in 1939, and a Ph.D. in 1952 in history from Harvard University, specializing in Milwaukee and Wisconsin history. Olson also served in the U.S. Army between 1942-1945 as a special agent in the Counter Intelligence Corps, which saw service in Africa, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. After being discharged from the army, Olson married Jane M. Correll in June of 1946. The Olsons had three children: David, Donald and Roger.
Olson began his teaching career at the Milwaukee State Teacher's College in 1946. This institution later became the Wisconsin State College, Milwaukee, and in 1956, UWM. Olson served as a professor in history from 1956 to 1985, and as a professor in the University of Wisconsin-Extension from 1968 to 1985. Olson chaired the History Department from 1960 to 1962 and from 1967 to 1970. Olson also served as associate dean in the UW-Extension from 1960-1968 and as the UWM's College of Letters & Science from 1971 to 1976. He acted as the acting dean of the School of Library Science from 1977 to 1979, served on numerous university committees during his tenure at UWM, and was director of the Milwaukee Humanities Program from 1977 to 1984.
Olson was active in supporting and nurturing local and state history, especially the Milwaukee County Historical Society, the Milwaukee Public Museum, and the State Historical Society of Wisconsin (SHSW). He served on the Milwaukee County Historical Board of Directors from 1947 to 1985 and as its president from 1953 to 1957 and from 1971 to 1974. Olson has also served on the SHSW's State Historic Preservation Review Board from 1978-1989, and its Board of Curators from 1961 to 1991. Olson contributed frequently to the historical literature. He co-authored Milwaukee: At the Gathering of the Waters, in 1981, published articles in numerous historical journals, contributed to various dictionaries and encyclopedia articles, was an editor for the Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography in 1960, co-author of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee An Historical Profile (1992) and Dear Jane: A Soldier's Letters from West Africa and the Middle East 1942-1945 (1994).
