Barbara Olson

{{Infobox person

|name = Barbara Olson

|image = Olson.barbara.jpg

|birth_name = Barbara Kay Bracher

|birth_date = {{birth date|1955|12|27}}

|birth_place = Houston, Texas, U.S.

|death_date = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|2001|9|11|1955|12|27}}}}

|death_place = Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.

|death_cause = Plane crash as part of the September 11 terrorist attacks

|years_active = 1990–2001

|education = University of Saint Thomas (BA)
Yeshiva University (JD)

|party = Republican

|occupation = {{Hlist|Political commentator|lawyer}}

|spouse = {{marriage|Theodore Olson|1996}}

}}

Barbara Kay Olson (née Bracher; December 27, 1955{{spaced ndash}}September 11, 2001) was an American lawyer and conservative television commentator who worked for CNN, Fox News Channel, and several other outlets.Lewis, Neil A. (September 13, 2001). [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/09/13/us/barbara-olson-45-advocate-and-conservative-commentator.html?ref=barbaraolson "Barbara Olson, 45, Advocate And Conservative Commentator"]. The New York Times. She was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77 en route to a taping of Bill Maher's television show Politically Incorrect when it was flown into the Pentagon in the September 11 attacks.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_2HsqxuUH4&t=1m46s| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211123/7_2HsqxuUH4| archive-date=2021-11-23 | url-status=live|title=What Barbara Olson Knew|last=composerguy|date=April 7, 2008|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}

Early life

Olson was born Barbara Kay Bracher in Houston, Texas, on December 27, 1955. Her older sister, Toni Bracher-Lawrence, was a member of the Houston City Council from 2004 to 2010. She graduated from Waltrip High School.{{cite web|url=http://hs.houstonisd.org/WaltripHS/TriviaFolder/trivia.htm|title=Waltrip Trivia Page|publisher=Waltrip High School|date=February 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831194046/http://hs.houstonisd.org/WaltripHS/TriviaFolder/trivia.htm |archive-date=August 31, 2012}}

Personal life

She married Theodore Olson in 1996, becoming his third wife.{{cite news |title= Napa Nuptials for Olson and His Lady |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/22/AR2006102200052.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns |date= October 22, 2006 |access-date= August 19, 2009 |newspaper= The Washington Post |first1= Amy |last1= Argetsinger |first2= Roxanne |last2= Roberts |name-list-style= amp |author-link1= Amy Argetsinger |author-link2= Roxanne Roberts |department= The Reliable Source }}

Olson was a frequent critic of the Bill Clinton administration and wrote a book about then–First Lady Hillary Clinton, Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton (1999). Olson's second book, The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House was published posthumously.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xANcUb7FY1UC | title=The final days: the last, desperate abuses of power by the Clinton White House | publisher=Regnery Pub. | author=Olson, Barbara | date=October 25, 2001| isbn=9780895261670 }}

Death and legacy

File:12.6.11BarbaraOlsonPanelS-70ByLuigiNovi2.jpg’s South Pool, with other passengers of Flight 77.]]

Olson was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77, on her way to a taping of Politically Incorrect in Los Angeles, when it was flown into the Pentagon in the September 11 attacks.

Her original plan had been to fly to California on September 10, but she waited until the next day so that she could wake up with her husband on his birthday, September 11. At the National September 11 Memorial, Olson's name is located on Panel S-70 of the South Pool, along with those of other passengers of Flight 77.[http://names.911memorial.org/#lang=en_US&page=person&id=149 South Pool: Panel S-70: Barbara K. Olson] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727095710/http://names.911memorial.org/ |date=July 27, 2013 }}. Memorial Guide: National 9/11 Memorial. Retrieved December 11, 2011.

Three months after the attacks, Olson's remains were identified. She was buried at her family's retreat in Wisconsin.{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/ted-olson-on-loss-and-love-in-the-decade-since-911/2011/09/09/gIQAlqKDLK_blog.html|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Ted Olson on loss and love in the decade since 9/11|date=September 11, 2011|accessdate=September 13, 2021|archivedate=September 12, 2011|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110912140428/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/reliable-source/post/ted-olson-on-loss-and-love-in-the-decade-since-911/2011/09/09/gIQAlqKDLK_blog.html}}

In popular culture

Canadian actress Marsha Mason portrayed Barbara Olson in the Canadian TV series Mayday Season 16: Episode 2 (2016) called "9/11: The Pentagon Attack" and Air Crash Investigation Special Report Season 2: Episode 1 (2019) called "Headline News".

Books

{{cite book|isbn=0-89526-274-6|title=Hell to Pay: The Unfolding Story of Hillary Rodham Clinton|last1=Olson|first1=Barbara|date=November 1999|publisher=Regnery Pub. }}
{{Cite book|isbn=0-89526-167-7|title=The Final Days: The Last, Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House|last1=Olson|first1=Barbara|date=October 2001|publisher=Regnery Pub. }}

References

External links

{{IMDb name}}
{{C-SPAN}}
{{Find a Grave}}
[http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/09/11/pentagon.olson/ Wife of Solicitor General alerted him of hijacking from plane]
[https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A37063-2001Sep15¬Found=true Barbara Olson Mourned at Arlington Service]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060828235527/http://cf.newsday.com/911/victimsearch.cfm?id=65 Barbara Olson: A Sparkling Celebrity 'Full of Energy'] Newsday.com-Victims Search
Alfred S. Regnery (September 17, 2001). [https://web.archive.org/web/20071214033951/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3827/is_200109/ai_n8954773 "Barbara Olson, RIP"]. Human Events/BNet Research Center.