George W. Olsen

George Walter Olsen (December 13, 1881 June 27, 1954) was a perennial candidate who gained the Democratic nomination for Governor of Nebraska in a closely contested primary in 1944 but ultimately lost the race to Republican incumbent governor Dwight Griswold.

Early life Olsen was born in Zealand, Denmark, and came to the United States at the age of three. After completing one year of high school, he took up farming and farmed until 1911.

Perennial candidate Olsen's first filing for public office came in 1912, when he filed to run for a seat in the Nebraska Senate. and also ran for Nebraska state senator again in 1930. Olsen finished third with only 2.9% of the vote.

In 1940, Olsen ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primaries for US Representative for Nebraska's 1st congressional district, losing to the eventual nominee Henry C. Luckey. Olsen then ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primaries for United States Senator in 1942, 1946, and 1948.

Gubernatorial campaign of 1944

In 1944, Olsen decided to once again seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of Nebraska. At the time, Olsen was employed as a busboy in the cafeteria at the Glenn L. Martin Bomber Plant.

After winning the primary, Olsen did not actively campaign, gave no speeches, had little contact with the Nebraska Democratic Party, and rarely made appearances for campaign events. Instead, Olsen would make nightly trips to Omaha to contact reporters, joke around with them, and offer "catchy campaign remarks." Olsen said he avoided the general public "upon the advice of [his] advisers," whom he would not name. He also stated in his platform, using an allusion to the Declaration of Independence, that "a decent respect for the opinion of mankind impels" him to set forth his qualifications, about which he said that "every newspaper publisher ought to know by this time that I have the proper qualifications."

In November, Olsen was eventually routed by incumbent governor Dwight Griswold, winning only 23.9% of the vote statewide and carrying zero counties. Olsen said he wanted to get a "regular night's rest" so that he could resume his work helping to build B-29 bombers. He claimed that his formula "ought to be plain to a child." He also said that he was "ready at any time to square the circle according to the numerical value of pi times the square of the radius in both the accurate and inaccurate values, without the use of a graduated ruler."

In 1932, Olsen also once wrote to the Omaha World-Herald, asking if they would "find out for him exactly how the number 3.1416, familiarly known as 'pi,' was arrived at mathematically." The editors posted an advertisement containing his request and asked that all readers who wished to respond send replies addressed to Olsen.

Personal life Olsen was married to Florence Garrett, who preceded him in death. He had four children, including a son named Ralph W. Olsen. Olsen lived most of his life in Otoe and Cass counties. Olsen passed away in Northampton, Massachusetts, on June 27, 1954, at the age of 72.