Edward Ferdinand Arn (May 19, 1906 – January 22, 1998) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 32nd governor of Kansas from 1951 to 1955. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the 31st

attorney general of Kansas The attorney general of Kansas is a statewide elected official responsible for providing legal services to the state government of Kansas. Kris Kobach assumed the office on January 9, 2023. Divisions * Administration Division * Civil Division * ...

from 1947 to 1949. He was the first governor of Kansas to have been born in the 20th century.

Biography

Arn grew up in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, and attended

Kansas City Junior College Metropolitan Community College (MCC or MCCKC) is a public community college system in the U.S. state of Missouri. The system consists of four physical campuses in Kansas City, Independence, and Lee's Summit, as well as the MCC-Online campus. The c ...

, the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, and the

Kansas City School of Law Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. He was married twice - to Marcella Ruth Tillmans on October 28, 1933 and to Catherine Phillipi Ross. He had two children.

Career

Arn practiced law in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, until he enlisted in the U. S. Navy. He served as a lieutenant aboard an aircraft carrier that fought in

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

. Returning to his law practice, Arn became active in local politics and served as Chairman of the Wyandotte County Republicans. From 1947 to 1949, he served as

Attorney General of Kansas The attorney general of Kansas is a statewide elected official responsible for providing legal services to the state government of Kansas. Kris Kobach assumed the office on January 9, 2023. Divisions * Administration Division * Civil Division * ...

, and as a justice of the

Kansas Supreme Court The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Marla Luckert, the court supervises the legal profession, administers the judicial branch, and serves as t ...

from 1949 to 1951. Arn won the Republican gubernatorial nomination was elected

Governor of Kansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

in 1950, re-elected in 1952, and served from 1951 to 1955. This made him the first Governor of Kansas born in the 20th century. During his tenure, the Kansas Turnpike Authority was established, workman's compensation benefits were improved, the Kansas Veteran's Commission was formed, a state department of Administration was organized, and the destructive floods of 1951 were dealt with. Arn left office on January 10, 1955, and returned to Wichita to practice law. He was a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

in 1960. He ran unsuccessfully for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

in 1962.

Death

Arn died in a hospital in

, on January 22, 1998, and is interred at the Old Mission Chapel Mausoleum in Wichita.

References

External links

*
The Political GraveyardKansapediaPublications concerning Kansas Governor Arn's administration available via the KGI Online Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arn, Edward F. 1906 births 1998 deaths Politicians from Kansas City, Kansas Republican Party governors of Kansas Kansas attorneys general Justices of the Kansas Supreme Court American Congregationalists United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American judges 20th-century Kansas politicians