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Higher Office(s) Served: Representative, Senator

Military Service: Army

War(s) Served:  World War I

FRANK CARLSON, the thirtieth governor of Kansas, was born in Concordia, Kansas on January 23, 1893. His education was attained at Concordia Normal and Business College and at Kansas State College, where he majored in agriculture. During World War I, he enlisted as a private in the U.S. Army, serving from 1918 to 1919. Carlson entered politics in 1928, as a member of the Kansas House of Representatives, a position he held until 1933. He also served as chairman of the Republican State Committee from 1932 to 1934, and was a member of the U. S. House of Representatives, serving from 1935 to 1947. Carlson won the 1946 Republican nomination and was sworn into the governorship on January 13, 1947. He was reelected to a second term in 1948. During his tenure, state colleges and universities were expanded, a new state office building was approved, rural school programs were advanced, the state highway system was improved, and funding was secured for law enforcement progression. Also, the state's mental hospital and social welfare programs were restructured, a permanent school building fund was initiated, a rural health service plan was instituted, and a gasoline tax was increased and used to fund a twenty-year highway-building program. Carlson resigned from the governor's office on November 28, 1950, to take his seat in the U.S. Senate. He served in this capacity until January 3, 1969. Governor Frank Carlson, who was named the "favorite son" candidate to the 1968 Republican National Convention, passed away on May 30, 1987. He was buried at the Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Concordia.

Sources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress

Kansas State Historical Society