Olin Templin was born in 1861 to Mary Ann Lerner and William Templin. His known siblings were Lerner, Ida, Dana, and Alice. Olin and his wife Lena had a daughter, Olina, more commonly called Alice. His sister Alice was married to Jay Clark, with whom Olin corresponded. There are also letters to Templin's nephews Olin and Byron Diebert in the collection.

Templin attended the University of Kansas and was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He received his degree in mathematics in 1886. From 1883 to 1943 he served as a professor of philosophy at KU and established what are now the departments of philosophy, psychology, and sociology. As well as being the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Templin served as executive secretary of the KU Endowment Association and chair of the Alumni Association. He was also heavily involved in the establishment of scholarship and residence halls on KU's Lawrence campus.

Templin was part of an effort to build a carillon tower to honor the settlers of Lawrence, Kansas for their endurance during the Civil War years. Though he died in 1943 before the bell tower was finished, the KU World War II Memorial Carillon was dedicated in his memory.