Q: This Kansas governor was born 120 years ago this week (January 23, 1893) near Concordia. What’s the name of this governor who also served in the U.S. House and Senate?
Frank Carlson, United States Senator from Kansas, with President Dwight D. Eisenhower at a prayer breakfast at the Mayflower Hotel, Washington, D.C., on March 2, 1960. (Photo Courtesy of Kansas Historical Society / kansasmemory.org) |
A: Frank Carlson
Frank Carlson was born on January 23, 1893, near Concordia. He served as the 30th Governor of Kansas. He also served in the Kansas House, the U.S. House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate. His political career spanned 40 years. He attended Kansas State University before serving in World War I. After the war, he returned to Concordia to farm. After he was elected governor in 1946, he championed mental health programs as well as a long-term highway project. Carlson died in 1987. Fun factoids: the federal courthouse in Topeka is named in Carlson’s honor. A stretch of U.S. Highway 81 north of Salina is named after him as is the public library in Concordia. And Wichita State University hosts the Frank Carlson Lecture Series.
The week's Kansas Trivia is brought to you by Biemer's BBQ in Lawrence...2120 West 9th Street.
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