Frank Carlson (January 23, 1893May 30, 1987) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served as the 30th governor of Kansas, Kansas State representative,

United States representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, and

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. Carlson is the only Kansan to have held all four offices. His political career spanned 40 years, beginning in November 1928 and ending in January 1969.

Early life and education

Carlson was born in 1893 near

Concordia, Kansas Concordia is a city in and the county seat of Cloud County, Kansas, United States. It is located along the Republican River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains in North Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ...

, the son of Anna (Johannesson) and Charles Eric Carlson, both

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrants. He attended public schools and

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

before serving in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a

Private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

Career

After the war, he returned to Concordia to farm. He was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to first the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

in 1928 and then to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, where he served from 1935 to 1947. In 1946 he was elected governor of Kansas. As governor, he pushed

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

programs as well as a long-term highway project. In 1949, Kansas State Senator Clyde M. Reed died, and Carlson appointed

Harry Darby Harry Darby (January 23, 1895January 17, 1987) was an American politician from Kansas. Life and career Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Darby graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois, and served in the ...

to fill the seat. Darby continued his service in the Senate until Carlson himself was elected to fill the seat in 1950. Instead of waiting until January to be sworn in, he took his seat on November 28, 1950, leaving the office of governor to Frank L. Hagaman who served less than two months. In 1952, he campaigned for

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, and then brokered a deal through Ohio Senator

Robert A. Taft Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate Majority Leade ...

and became Senate majority leader. According to

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

's biography ''Just As I Am'', Carlson invited Eisenhower to the Senate Prayer Breakfast, which thus became the first Presidential Prayer Breakfast, thereafter an annual assembly of all three branches of government, continuing to this day. Carlson was re-elected twice, in 1956 and 1962, before returning to Concordia for retirement. Carlson served a term as president of the United States Senate Prayer Breakfast Group. He was therein featured by ''U.S. News & World Report'' on July 1, 1968, by editor, David Lawrence, for his strong moral and spiritual influence in the nation's capital. He was also a member of the board of directors of

World Vision In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

. Carlson voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement ...

, and the confirmation of

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, but did not vote on the

Civil Rights Act of 1960 The Civil Rights Act of 1960 () is a United States federal law that established federal inspection of local voter registration polls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote. It dealt primarily wi ...

Death

Carlson died in 1987 in Concordia and was buried there in Pleasant Hill Cemetery. The federal court building in Topeka is named in his honor,

US 81 U.S. Route 81 or U.S. Highway 81 (US 81) is a major north–south U.S. highway that extends for in the central United States and is one of the original United States Numbered Highways established in 1926 by the American Association of Stat ...

from the Nebraska state line north of Belleville to Salina is named the Frank Carlson Memorial Highway, the

Frank Carlson Library The Frank Carlson Library is a public library in Concordia, Kansas. The library is named for former Governor of Kansas, State Representative, Representative, and Senator Frank Carlson Frank Carlson (January 23, 1893May 30, 1987) was an Americ ...

in Concordia is named in his honor, and

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

hosts the Frank Carlson Lecture Series.

Frank Carlson Library

In April 2011, the

, received a mini grant from the Kansas Humanities Council to renovate the library's Frank Carlson Room. The grant funded the development of a new exhibit dedicated to telling new generations of Kansans about Carlson's life and political career. Coinciding with the yearlong Kansas 150 Commemoration, the renovation was part of a statewide initiative to preserve the memory of important people and events in the state's past. Senator Frank Carlson is the only Kansan to have held four major public offices and is known as "Kansas' Favorite Son". The renovation project replaced the original Frank Carlson display, created in 1976 and shown until the summer of 2011. The new exhibit, ''Frank Carlson: Prairie Politician'', tells and preserves Senator Carlson's story through an updated exhibit and modern archival techniques. The exhibit showcases Carlson memorabilia, photographs, and items from the Senator's personal collection, which is housed in the Frank Carlson Library. Senator Carlson's story is told in three parts, beginning with his childhood and church leadership in Concordia, Kansas, following him through his forty-year political career, and celebrating his legacy as a political figure and an important local figure. Among the items on display are a check from President

, written to Carlson in settlement of a friendly bet, several pens used by President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

to sign important legislation that Carlson supported, and Carlson's elephant figurine collection. The exhibit also includes artifacts that tie Carlson to his hometown and home state. On display are the school bell from the schoolhouse Carlson attended in Cloud County, Kansas, caricatures and political cartoons drawn by fellow Concordian Don Musik, and keepsakes on loan from Carlson's friends and family.

References

Other sources

*Homer E. Socolofsky (1990) ''Kansas Governors'' (University Press of Kansas)

External links

Frank Carlson Library website
*
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

Governor's Mansion Information
*
Publications concerning Kansas Governor Carlson's administration available via the KGI Online Library
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, Frank 1893 births 1987 deaths People from Cloud County, Kansas American people of Swedish descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas Republican Party United States senators from Kansas Candidates in the 1968 United States presidential election Republican Party governors of Kansas Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians People from Concordia, Kansas Kansas State University alumni United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army soldiers