George Docking, who served as the 35th Governor of Kansas, was born in 1904 in Clay Center. His father, William, was moved first to the Gill Township in Clay County from England as a child, then to Clay Center, where he and his siblings could attend school.
William then moved his family to Lawrence by the time George was 6. The latter finished school and graduated from KU in 1925. He worked as a banker before getting involved in politics in the early 1950s.
George became a Democrat in 1952 when Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for president. Then in 1952, Docking served in fundraising for Adlai Stevenson, who ran against Dwight D. Eisenhower in two presidential elections (1952 and 1956); both were landslides.
In 1956, Docking was elected as Governor of Kansas in 1956, serving until 1961. This marked him as the first democrat to serve multiple terms as Kansas Governor.
In addition, Docking dealt with a nearly four-year feud with KU Chancellor Franklin Murphy, who wanted to grow the University. Murphy’s vision was large and expensive, wanting to bring the University to become one of the country’s largest with building expansion, raises for professors, and an increase in research status.
Docking did not share the Republicans’ view, which meant he would not approve funding. Once the relationship had grown too hostile to continue, Murphy resigned and took a job at UCLA. KU students blamed Docking for the loss and retaliated. That day, around 600 students hung and burned a Docking doll on campus. The next day, more than 4,000 students met at Hoch Auditorium in support of Murphy and vocalized their distaste for the Governor.
Docking lost his third election, in part due to his stance against the death penalty.
From there he was appointed as Director of the Export-Import Bank in Washington, D.C. by John F. Kennedy. Docking remained in that role until he died of emphysema in 1964.
Research via Susan Hammond.
