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.
The 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.
- The State Archives has a limited amount of records from Governor Docking's administration. The majority of Governor Docking's official records are at the University of Kansas Spencer Research Library
- Governor Docking material on Kansas Memory
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.
