Frank Olson
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Frank Olson (July 17, 1910 – November 28, 1953) was a U.S. Army scientist who died under mysterious circumstances while undertaking secret research with the U.S. Army.
Olson's death was initially ruled a suicide, but this verdict has been disputed.
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[edit] Biography
A chemist with the Army's top secret Special Operations Division at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. His specific research in the Army is unknown, but he was involved in biological weapons research and experimented with mind control drugs.
In 1953, as Deputy Acting Head of Special Operations for the CIA, Olson associated with William Sargant, investigating the use of psychoactive drugs at Britain's Biological Warfare Centre at Porton Down.[1]
[edit] MKULTRA and Olson's death
According to the government's version of events, as part of the MKULTRA mind control experiments, Olson was dosed with LSD without his knowledge, subsequently suffering severe paranoia and a nervous breakdown. The CIA sent him to New York to see one of their psychiatrists, who recommended that Olson be placed into a mental institution for recovery.
On his last night in Manhattan, Olson purportedly threw himself out his tenth-floor hotel room window, dying on impact.[2]
[edit] Later disclosures
His family had no idea of the details of the accident until the Rockefeller Commission started uncovering some of the CIA's MKULTRA activities. In 1975, the government admitted that Olson had been dosed with LSD without his knowledge. The government offered his family an out of court settlement of $750,000, which they accepted.
In 1994, Eric Olson had his father's body exhumed. The forensic scientist in charge of the examination, George Washington University professor James E. Starrs, determined that Olson had suffered some form of blunt force trauma prior to falling out of the window, and called the evidence "rankly and starkly suggestive of homicide". Based on his findings, in 1996 the Manhattan district attorney opened a homicide investigation into Olson's death, but was unable to find enough evidence to bring charges.
[edit] References in pop culture
- In the May 2, 2007 episode of the show "Bones", entitled "Spaceman in a Crater", the Frank Olson case was mentioned along with Project Paperclip and Project ARTICHOKE as examples of situations where the US government has caused the death of individuals. The reference is made by the character "Hodgins" who is noted for being a conspiracy buff.
- In the feature film Oktober, the protagonist says he "has what Frank Olson had".
- Two similar events are mentioned in an episode of the TV series JAG.
- Contemporary American Poet David Clewell has a book of poetry entitled Conspiracy Quartet which includes a piece about Olson and the LSD experiments.
- A similar event is referenced in the feature film The Good Shepherd.
[edit] References
- John D. Marks (1979). The Search for the "Manchurian Candidate": The CIA and Mind Control. Times Books. ISBN 0-8129-0773-6.
- George Andrews (2001). MKULTRA : The CIA's Top Secret Program in Human Experimentation and Behavior Modification. Healthnet Press. ISBN 0-9616475-8-2.
- Jon Ronson (2005). The Men Who Stare At Goats. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-7060-6.
[edit] Notes
- ^ www.frankolsonproject.org/statements/statement-G.Thomas.html.
- ^ "Family Plans to Sue C.I.A. Over Suicide in Drug Test", New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-03-16.
[edit] External links
- "Son probes strange death of WMD worker" - Scott Shane writing for The Baltimore Sun (September 12, 2004)
- The Frank Olson Legacy Project - explores the circumstances of Frank Olson's death and the political and ethical issues embedded in them
- Codename Artichoke - WorldLink, SPOTLIGHT INTERNATIONAL Investigative Documentatries (c)WDR 2002. Documentary about the suspicious death of Frank Olson
- The Frank Olson Murder
