George Docking
George Docking was an American businessman who served as the 35th governor of Kansas. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
Biography
Born in Clay Center, Kansas, Docking was educated in the public schools of Lawrence, Kansas. He graduated from the University of Kansas in 1925. He married Mary Virginia Blackwell, and they had two children. Docking was a Presbyterian.Career
Docking changed party affiliations when Franklin D. Roosevelt was first nominated for president. In 1952, he became the fundraiser for the presidential campaign of Adlai Stevenson.Docking was elected Governor of Kansas in 1956 and reelected in 1958, making him the first member of the Democratic Party to serve more than a single term as governor in Kansas. In the election of 1960 he lost to Republican candidate John Anderson, Jr. perhaps in part because of his stance on the death penalty. He was known to say "I just don't like killing people." His tenure was marked by his battles with a Republican controlled legislature, and a three-year dispute with the University of Kansas Chancellor Franklin Murphy was settled, resulting in Murphy's resignation.
Docking was a delegate to the 1960 Democratic National Convention. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed him Director of the Export-Import Bank in Washington, D.C. He served in that office until his death.