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Robert Blackwell Docking

Politician, governor. Democrat. Born: October 9, 1925, Kansas City, Missouri. Died: October  8, 1983, Arkansas City, Kansas. Served as 38th Governor of Kansas: January 9, 1967, to January 6, 1975.

Robert DockingThe son of the state's 35th governor, Robert Docking was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 9, 1925. He married Meredith Marina Gear Docking on June 17, 1950. Like his father, he entered banking and in 1956 moved to Arkansas City. At the age of 41, just a decade after George Docking won his first gubernatorial election, Robert Docking won the first of four two-year terms as Kansas' chief executive. In 1970, he won an unprecedented third term and two years later set a new record by winning yet another. He was the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas' Distinguished Kansan of the Year in 1980. After eight years in Topeka, Docking returned to Arkansas City where he died on October 8, 1983.

Entry: Docking, Robert Blackwell

Author: Kansas Historical Society

Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.

Date Created: June 2011

Date Modified: March 2016

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.