Robert Blackwell Docking (October 9, 1925October 8, 1983) was an American businessman and politician from

Kansas 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 ...

who served as the 38th governor of Kansas from 1967 until 1975. A

conservative Democrat In American politics, a conservative Democrat is a member of the Democratic Party with more conservative views than most Democrats. Traditionally, conservative Democrats have been elected to office from the Southern states, rural areas, and t ...

in a heavily Republican state, Docking is to date Kansas's only governor to serve four terms. A son of previous Democratic governor George Docking, he grew up in

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

, and served in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war he established a career as a banker and civic leader in

Arkansas City, Kansas Arkansas City () is a city in Cowley County, Kansas, United States, situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of the county. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 11,974. Pronunc ...

, eventually becoming mayor. Docking became the first Democrat in state history to unseat an incumbent governor in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, and would be reelected in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

, and

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

. A popular figure who was best known for his staunch

fiscal conservatism In American political theory, fiscal conservatism or economic conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, ...

and consistent electoral success, Docking is credited with reviving the Kansas Democratic Party and developing a competitive two-party system in Kansas. He was the father of Lieutenant Governor of Kansas and gubernatorial candidate Thomas Docking, and father-in-law of

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 ...

candidate Jill Docking.

Early life

The son of future Governor George Docking and Mary Virginia Blackwell Docking, Robert Blackwell Docking was born on October 9, 1925, in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. He attended public school in

, before attending 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 served in the

during

Career

Early career

After his discharge from the military, Docking returned to Lawrence to take a position at First National Bank of Lawrence, his family's banking business. He married

Elkhart, Kansas Elkhart is a city in and the county seat of Morton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,888. The southern edge of the city is the Kansas-Oklahoma state border, and the city is from the Kans ...

native and

business graduate Meredith Marina Gear on June 17, 1950 in

. In 1956, Docking moved to

to take a position as vice president of Union State Bank. In 1959 he became president of the bank. Also in 1959, he was named "Young Man of the Year" by the Kansas State Junior Chamber of Commerce. Docking also became involved in an insurance agency and a feedlot business.

Governor of Kansas (1967–1975)

Elections

Docking was elected governor in

in a major upset over the incumbent Republican, William Avery 55% to 44%, whom Docking attacked for his administration's unpopular income and sales tax hikes. Avery was also hurt by a contentious court-ordered school district unification process that took place during his term. Avery had trailed in polling before the election, but was still seen as the favorite due to Kansas's strong Republican tradition and the intense unpopularity of the Johnson Administration in the state. Docking was narrowly reelected to a second term in

, defeating Republican Rick Harman 52% to 48%. He was re-elected to a third term in

, defeating Republican

Kent Frizzell Dale Kent Frizzell (February 11, 1929 – October 26, 2016) was an American attorney and politician from the state of Kansas. He served as a state senator in the Kansas State Senate from 1965 to 1967, and as Attorney General of Kansas from 1969 ...

54% to 45%. In

, despite the victory of President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

in the state, Docking was re-elected to a fourth term, defeating Republican Morris Kay 62% to 37%. Due to a new amendment in the state constitution, Docking was ineligible for reelection in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

and was succeeded by Republican Robert Frederick Bennett.

Tenure

The 1967 legislative session was dominated by bitter clashes between Docking and a largely Republican legislature on taxes, school finance and highway construction. Accomplishments of the session were considered modest, but the governor fulfilled a campaign promise by securing approval of a cut of income taxes on the first $2,000 of taxable income from 2.5% to 2%. He also established conformity between federal and state income taxes, and reduced withholding rates form 15% to 10%. He ultimately vetoed 21 bills passed during the session. Docking served more terms than any other Kansas governor, but is tied for length of service because of a constitutional amendment approved during his final term which provided that Kansas governors serve four-year terms, and are constitutionally prohibited from running for more than two terms. He was known for his commitment to

farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

, small business owners, and the environment. Docking was married to Meredith. They had two sons, William and Tom, the latter of whom served as lieutenant governor and ran unsuccessfully for the governorship in 1986. After his service as governor, Docking resumed his former profession of banking in Arkansas City. He donated his papers to the University of Kansas rather than give them to the Kansas State Historical Society, where the papers of his 34 predecessors are stored, with the exception of his father, who burned his gubernatorial papers.

Death and legacy

Docking died of

emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...

in 1983 in Merriam, Kansas, the day before his 58th birthday, and is interred in Highland Park Cemetery 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 ...

, in a plot adjoining his parents'. A state office building across the street from the capital in

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

, bears his name, and his bank in Arkansas City (Union State Bank), which is still owned by the Dockings, is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. In addition, the entire length of

U.S. Route 77 U.S. Route 77 (US 77) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway which extends for in the central United States. As of 2005, Its southern terminus is in Brownsville, Texas, at Veteran's International Bridge on the U.S.-Mexico borde ...

Cowley County, Kansas Cowley County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat is Winfield, Kansas, Winfield, and its most populous city is Arkansas City, Kansas, Arkansas City. As of the 2020 United States census, 202 ...

(which contains Arkansas City) is known as the Robert B. Docking Memorial Highway. Docking's son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

was lieutenant governor of Kansas during the gubernatorial tenure of John Carlin. Docking's daughter-in-law, and Thomas' wife, Jill Docking, was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee to succeed

Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...

in the 1996 U.S. Senate election, losing to

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Kansas from 1996 to 2011 and as the List of governors of Kansas, 46th governor of K ...

. She was the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor in the 2014 elections ( Paul Davis was the gubernatorial candidate and her running mate).

References

External links

Governor's mansion tour guide information

*
http://www.kansas.govPublications concerning Kansas Governor Robert Docking's administration available via the KGI Online Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Docking, Robert 1925 births 1983 deaths Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri American Presbyterians Democratic Party governors of Kansas Politicians from Lawrence, Kansas University of Kansas alumni United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II People from Arkansas City, Kansas American bankers Mayors of places in Kansas Deaths from emphysema Businesspeople from Kansas City, Missouri Docking family 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Kansas politicians