Kansas Attorneys General
The Kansas Attorney General is one of four statewide offices, elected to four-year teams during midterm years. The attorney general is responsible for providing legal services to state agencies and boards, protecting consumers from fraud, assisting victims of crime, and defending the state in civil proceedings. There are no constitutional or statutory qualifications for the office. The provisions for the office are outlined in the Kansas Constitution, Article 1, Section 1. The office of attorney general is located at Memorial Hall in downtown Topeka.
| Name | Term | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas Territory Attorneys General | |||
| 1. | Andrew Jackson Isacks | June 30, 1854 - March 1857 | |
| 2. | William Weer | March 13, 1857 - June 5, 1858 | |
| 3. | Alson C. Davis | June 5, 1858 - February 9, 1861 | |
| Kansas State Attorneys General | |||
| 1. | Benjamin Franklin Simpson | February to July 1861 | |
| 2. | Charles Chadwick | July 30, 1861 - December 1861 | |
| 3. | Samuel Adams Stinson | December 20, 1861 - January 1863 | (date of oath) |
| 4. | Warren William Guthrie | January 1863 - January 1865 | |
| 5. | Jerome D. Brumbaugh | January 9, 1865 - January 14, 1867 | |
| 6. | George H. Hoyt | 14 Jan 1867 - 11 Jan 1869 | |
| 7. | Addison Danford | 11 Jan 1869 - 9 Jan 1871 | |
| 8. | Archibald L. Williams | 9 Jan 1871 - 11 Jan 1875 | |
| 9. | Asa Maxson Fitz Randolph | 11 Jan 1875 - 8 Jan 1877 | |
| 10. | Willard Davis | 8 Jan 1877 - 10 Jan 1881 | |
| 11. | William Agnew Johnston | 10 Jan 1881 - 1 Dec 1884 | |
| 12. | George Price Smith | 1 Dec 1884 - 12 Jan 1885 | |
| 13. | Simeon Briggs Bradford | 12 Jan 1885 - 14 Jan 1889 | |
| 14. | Lyman Beecher Kellogg | 14 Jan 1889 - 12 Jan 1891 | |
| 15. | John Nutt Ives | 12 Jan 1891 - 9 Jan 1893 | |
| 16. | John Thomas Little | 9 Jan 1893 - 14 Jan 1895 | |
| 17. | Fernando Brenton Dawes | 14 Jan 1895 - 11 Jan 1897 | |
| 18. | Louis C. Boyle | 11 Jan 1897 - 9 Jan 1899 | |
| 19. | Aretas Allen Godard | 9 Jan 1899 - 12 Jan 1903 | |
| 20. | Chiles Crittendon Coleman | 12 Jan 1903 - 14 Jan 1907 | |
| 21. | Fred Schuyler Jackson | 14 Jan 1907 - 9 Jan 1911 | |
| 22. | John Shaw Dawson | 9 Jan 1911 - 11 Jan 1915 | |
| 23. | Sardius Mason Brewster | 11 Jan 1915 - 13 Jan 1919 | |
| 24. | Richard Joseph Hopkins | 13 Jan 1919 - 8 Jan 1923 | |
| 25. | Charles Benjamin Griffith | 8 Jan 1923 - 10 Jan 1927 | |
| 26. | William A. Smith | 10 Jan 1927 - 1 Dec 1930 | |
| 27. | Roland Boynton | 1 Dec 1930 - 14 Jan 1935 | |
| 28. | Clarence Victor Beck | 14 Jan 1935 - 9 Jan 1939 | |
| 29. | Jay S. Parker | 9 Jan 1939 - 11 Jan 1943 | |
| 30. | Alexander Baldwin Mitchell | 11 Jan 1943 - 13 Jan 1947 | |
| 31. | Edward F. Arn | January 13, 1947 - February 21, 1949 | Republican from Wichita, born May 19, 1906, in Kansas City, Kansas, resigned to accept appointment as Justice of Supreme Court |
| 32. | Harold Ralph Fatzer | 21 Feb 1949 - 1 Mar 1956 | |
| 33. | John Anderson, Jr. | March 1, 1956 - January 9, 1961 |
Republican from Olathe, born May 8, 1917, Olathe, appointed vice under Fatzer, then elected to two succeeding terms |
| 34. | William M. Ferguson | 9 Jan 1961 - 11 Jan 1965 | |
| 35. | Robert C. Londerholm | 11 Jan 1965 - 13 Jan 1969 | |
| 36. | Kent Frizzell | 13 Jan 1969 - 11 Jan 1971 | |
| 37. | Vern Miller | 11 Jan 1971 - 13 Jan 1975 | |
| 38. | Curt T. Schneider | 13 Jan 1975 - 8 Jan 1979 | |
| 39. | Robert T. Stephan | January 8, 1979 - January 9, 1995 | |
| 40. | Carla J. Stovall | January 9, 1995 - January 13, 2003 | |
| 41. | Phill Kline | January 13, 2003 - January 8, 2007 | |
| 42. | Paul Morrison | January 9, 2007 - January 30, 2008 | |
| 43. | Steve Six | January 31, 2008 - January 10, 2011 | |
| 44. | Derek Schmidt | January 10, 2011 - | |
Alphabetical listing of Kansas State Attorneys General
John Anderson, Jr.
Born 8 May 1917, Olathe, Kan.
Attorney General 1 Mar 1956 - 9 Jan 1961
Appointed vice Fatzer, then elected to two succeeding terms
Republican from Olathe
Edward F. Arn
Born 19 May 1906 in Kansas City, Kan.
Attorney General 13 Jan 1947 - 21 Feb 1949
Resigned to accept appointment as Justice of Supreme Court
Republican from Wichita
Clarence Victor Beck
Born 1896; died 14 Jan 1984 in Raleigh, N.C.
Attorney General 14 Jan 1935 - 9 Jan 1939
Republican from Emporia
Louis C. Boyle
Born 1866; died 15 July 1925 in Rochester, Minn.
Attorney General 11 Jan 1897 - 9 Jan 1899
Populist from Fort Scott
Roland Boynton
Born 1891; died 6 Feb 1942 in Bartlesville, Okla.
Attorney General 1 Dec 1930 - 14 Jan 1935; appointed viceSmith
Republican from Emporia
Simeon Briggs Bradford
Born 1847; died 2 Apr 1902 in Ardmore, Indian Terr.
Attorney General 12 Jan 1885 - 14 Jan 1889
Republican from Carbondale
Sardius Mason Brewster
Born 1870; died 5 Mar 1936 in Topeka, Kan.
Attorney General 11 Jan 1915 - 13 Jan 1919
Republican from Troy
Jerome D. Brumbaugh
Died 1 Mar 1878 in Marysville, Kan.
Attorney General 9 Jan 1865 - 14 Jan 1867
Republican from Marysville
Charles Chadwick
Born 1825
Attorney General 30 July 1861 - Dec 1861; appointed vice Simpson
From Lawrence
Chiles Crittendon Coleman
Born 1854; died 4 Mar 1911 in Clay Center, Kan.
Attorney General 12 Jan 1903 - 14 Jan 1907
Republican from Clay Center
Addison Danford
Born 1829; died 29 Sept 1901 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Attorney General 11 Jan 1869 - 9 Jan 1871
Republican from Fort Scott
Alson C. Davis
Attorney General 5 June 1858 - 9 Feb 1861
From Wyandotte
Willard Davis
Born 1839; died 7 Dec 1885 in Topeka, Kan.
Attorney General 8 Jan 1877 - 10 Jan 1881
Republican from Oswego
Fernando Brenton Dawes
Born 1855; died 17 Oct 1916 in Clay Center, Kan.
Attorney General 14 Jan 1895 - 11 Jan 1897
Republican from Clay Center
John Shaw Dawson
Born 1869; died 19 Feb 1960 in Topeka, Kan.
Attorney General 9 Jan 1911 - 11 Jan 1915
Republican from Hill City
Harold Ralph Fatzer
Born 1910; died 1989
Attorney General 21 Feb 1949 - 1 Mar 1956
Appointed vice Arn; resigned to accept appointment as Supreme Court Justice
Republican from Kinsley
William M. Ferguson
Born 1917
Attorney General 9 Jan 1961 - 11 Jan 1965
Republican from Wellington
Kent Frizzell
Born 1929
Attorney General 13 Jan 1969 - 11 Jan 1971
Republican from Wichita
Aretas Allen Godard
Born 1855; died 9 Sept 1948 in Miami, Fla.
Attorney General 9 Jan 1899 - 12 Jan 1903
Republican from Topeka
Charles Benjamin Griffith
Born 1872; died 8 June 1921 in Topeka, Kan.
Attorney General 8 Jan 1923 - 10 Jan 1927
Republican from Fort Scott
Warren William Guthrie
Born 1834; died 22 Apr 1903 in Atchison, Kan.
Attorney General Jan 1863 - Jan 1865
Republican from Carson
Richard Joseph Hopkins
Born 1873; died 28 Aug 1943 in Kansas City
Attorney General 13 Jan 1919 - 8 Jan 1923
Republican from Garden City
George H. Hoyt
Born 1837; died 2 Feb 1877 in Athol, Mass.
Attorney General 14 Jan 1867 - 11 Jan 1869
Republican from Leavenworth
Andrew Jackson Isacks
Attorney General 30 June 1854 - Mar 1857
[Commissioned 29 June 1854; began service 30 June; took the oath of office 29 Nov]
From Louisiana
John Nutt Ives
Born 1837
Attorney General 12 Jan 1891 - 9 Jan 1893
Democrat from Sterling
Fred Schuyler Jackson
Born 1868; died 21 Nov 1931 in Topeka, Kan.
Attorney General 14 Jan 1907 - 9 Jan 1911
Republican from Eureka
William Agnew Johnston
Born 1848; died 23 Jan 1937 in Topeka, Kan.
Attorney General 10 Jan 1881 - 1 Dec 1884
Resigned to become associate justice
Republican from Minneapolis
Lyman Beecher Kellogg
Born 1841; died 9 Oct 1918 in Emporia, Kan.
Attorney General 14 Jan 1889 - 12 Jan 1891
Republican from Emporia
Phill Kline
Born December 31, 1959, Kansas City, Kan.
Attorney General 13 Jan 2003 -
Republican attorney from Shawnee
John Thomas Little
Born 1844; died 10 Dec 1926 in Olathe, Kan.
Attorney General 9 Jan 1893 - 14 Jan 1895
Populist from Olathe
Robert C. Londerholm
Born 1931
Attorney General 11 Jan 1965 - 13 Jan 1969
Republican from Prairie Village
Vern Miller
Attorney General 11 Jan 1971 - 13 Jan 1975
Democrat from Wichita
Alexander Baldwin Mitchell
Born 1893; died 27 Nov 1954 in Lawrence, Kan.
Attorney General 11 Jan 1943 - 13 Jan 1947
Republican from Lawrence
Paul J. Morrison
Born 1 June 1954, Dodge City, Kan.
Attorney General 8 Jan 2007 - 30 Jan 2008
Democrat from Kansas City, Kansas
Jay S. Parker
Born 1895
Attorney General 9 Jan 1939 - 11 Jan 1943
Republican from Hill City
Asa Maxson Fitz Randolph
Born 1829; died 2 Sept 1898 in Topeka, Kan.
Attorney General 11 Jan 1875 - 8 Jan 1877
Republican from Burlington
Derek Schmidt
Born 23 Jan 1968 in Independence, Kan.
Attorney General 10 Jan 2011 -
Republican from Independence
Curt T. Schneider
Born 1928
Attorney General 13 Jan 1975 - 8 Jan 1979
Democrat from Coffeyville
Benjamin Franklin Simpson
Born 1836; died 10 Aug 1916 in Paola, Kan.
Attorney General February to July 1861 (resigned).
Republican from Paola
Steve Six
Born 11 Dec 1965 in Lawrence, Kan.
Attorney General 31 Jan 2008 to 10 Jan 2011
Democrat from Lawrence
George Price Smith
Born 1828
Attorney General 1 Dec 1884 - 12 Jan 1885; appointed viceJohnston
Democrat from Humboldt
William A. Smith
Born 1888; died 21 July 1968 in Topeka, Kan.
Attorney General 10 Jan 1927 - 1 Dec 1930
Resigned to become Justice of Supreme Court
Republican from Valley Falls
Robert T. Stephan
Attorney General 8 Jan 1979 - 9 Jan 1995
Republican from Wichita
Samuel Adams Stinson
Born 1833; died 18 Feb 1866 in Wicasset, Maine
Attorney General 20 Dec 1861 (date of oath) - Jan 1863
Elected on Union ticket from Leavenworth (actually a Democrat)
Carla J. Stovall
Born 18 Mar 1957 in Hardtner, Kan.
Attorney General 9 Jan 1995 - 13 Jan 2003
Republican from Marion
William Weer
Attorney General 13 Mar 1857 - 5 June 1858
[Appointment confirmed 13 Mar 1857]
From Lecompton
Archibald Llewellyn Williams
Born 1840; died 28 Aug 1907 in Manitou, Colo.
Attorney General 9 Jan 1871 - 11 Jan 1875
Republican from Topeka
- Search the Archives Catalog for information about records from the Kansas Attorney General's Office.
- Opinions of the Kansas Attorney General since January 1974 are available on the Washburn Law School website.
Entry: Kansas Attorneys General
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: February 2017
Date Modified: June 2019
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
