Lieutenant Joseph W. Henkle, Sr. Name George Docking Party Democratic Party Religion Presbyterian Education University of Kansas | Political party Democratic Spouse Mary Virginia Blackwell Preceded by John McCuish Role Former Governor of Kansas Succeeded by John Anderson, Jr. | |
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Profession bond salesman, banker, gas businessman Died January 20, 1964, Kansas City, Kansas, United States Previous office Governor of Kansas (1957–1961) | ||
George Docking (February 23, 1904 – January 20, 1964) was the 35th Governor of Kansas, (1957–1961).
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Biography
Born in Clay Center, Kansas, Docking was educated in the public schools of Lawrence, Kansas. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1925. He married Mary Virginia Blackwell, and they had two children.
Career
Docking changed party affiliations when Franklin D. Roosevelt was first nominated for president. In 1952, he became the fundraiser for the presidential campaign of Adlai Stevenson.
Docking was elected Governor of Kansas in 1956 and reelected in 1958, making him the first member of the Democratic Party to serve more than a single term as governor in Kansas. In the election of 1960 he lost to Republican candidate John Anderson, Jr. perhaps in part because of his stance on the death penalty. He was known to say "I just don't like killing people." His tenure was marked by his battles with a Republican controlled legislature, and a three-year dispute with the Kansas University Chancellor Franklin Murphy was settled, resulting in Murphy's resignation.
Docking was a delegate to the 1960 Democratic National Convention. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed him director of the Import-Export Bank of Washington D. C. He served in that office until his death.
Death and legacy
Docking died from emphysema in 1964 in a hospital in Kansas City, Kansas and is interred at the Highland Park Cemetery in Kansas City, Kansas. His son Robert Docking served four terms as Governor of Kansas, from 1967 to 1975, and the Docking family remains one of the most prominent in Kansas politics. Docking was a champion amateur tennis player and a master Contract bridge player.