Frank Carlson

Frank Carlson
United States Senator from Kansas
In office November 29, 1950 – January 3, 1969
Preceded by	Harry Darby
Succeeded by	Bob Dole
30th Governor of Kansas
In office January 13, 1947 – November 28, 1950
Lieutenant	Frank L. Hagaman
Preceded by	Andrew F. Schoeppel
Succeeded by	Frank L. Hagaman
Personal details
Born	January 23, 1893(1893-01-23) Cloud County, Kansas
Died	May 30, 1987(1987-05-30) (aged 94) Concordia, Kansas
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Alice Fredrickson
Alma mater	Concordia Normal and Business School Kansas State University
Profession	farmer, politician
Religion	Baptist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1918-1919
Rank	Private
Battles/wars	World War I

Frank Carlson (January 23, 1893 – May 30, 1987) was an American politician who served as the 30th Governor of Kansas and United States Representative and United States Senator from Kansas.

Biography

Born in 1893 near Concordia, Kansas, he attended public schools and Kansas State University before serving in World War I as a Private. After the war, he returned to Concordia to farm. He was elected as a Republican to first the Kansas House of Representatives then to the United States House of Representatives where he served from 1935 to 1947.

In 1946 he was elected governor of Kansas. As governor, he pushed mental health programs as well as a long-term highway project. In 1949, Kansas senator Clyde M. Reed died, and Carlson appointed Harry Darby 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 (it is very common for someone who is elected to a Senate seat that is at the time occupied by an unelected appointee to be sworn in early), leaving the office of governor to Frank L. Hagaman who served less than two months.

In 1952, he campaigned to get fellow Kansan Dwight D. Eisenhower into the White House, and then brokered a deal through Ohio Senator Robert Taft, known as "Mr. Republican", and became majority leader. According to Billy Graham'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 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 from the Nebraska state line north of Belleville to Salina is named the "Frank Carlson Memorial Highway", the Frank Carlson Library in Concordia is named in his honor, and Wichita State University hosts the Frank Carlson Lecture Series. Carlson was the only Governor of Kansas to have served in both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate until Sam Brownback's election in 2010. Brownback served in the U.S. House, representing the 2nd District of Kansas, from 1995 until 1996 and in the U.S. Senate from 1996 until 2010.

Senator Carlson served a term as president of the United States Senate Prayer Breakfast Group. He was therein featured by U.S. News and 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.

External links

• A film clip "Longines Chronoscope with Frank Carlson" is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Governor's Mansion Information
• "Frank Carlson". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6898336. Retrieved March 19, 2008.