Olson‘s third wife, Barbara Olson, was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon

Former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, who served two Republican presidents as one of the country’s best known conservative lawyers and successfully argued on behalf of same-sex marriage, has died.

Even in a town full of lawyers, Ted’s career as a litigator was particularly prolific,” said Mitch McConnell, the longtime Senate Republican leader.

Former U.S. Solicitor General Ted Olson, who served two Republican presidents as one of the country’s best known conservative lawyers and successfully argued on behalf of same-sex marriage, died Wednesday.

Former Solicitor General Theodore Olson, the conservative lawyer who argued the Bush 2000 recount case, has died at 84. Olson also served as private counsel to former President Ronald Reagan.

The conservative lawyer also was at the center of the 2000 election case that eventually led to George W. Bush’s victory over Al Gore.