John Anderson, born in 1917, grew up in Olathe, Kansas. He attended public schools there and his undergraduate college years at the Kansas College of Agriculture and Applied Science (now Kansas State University), later transferred to the University of Kansas. Anderson graduated from K.U. in 1943 and from the law school at K.U. in 1944. Anderson was disqualified from military service for physical reasons. He spent two years working for federal judge Walter A. Huxman, and established his own legal practice in Olathe in 1946. Anderson entered politics in the late 1940s in the Johnson County Attorney campaign. In 1952 he won the election for the Kansas Senate, holding onto that seat until 1956, when he won the Attorney General's office (1956-1958). In 1960 Anderson ran for, and won, the governor's office. He had a tendency to win elections in pairs. After his tenure in the governor's office, Anderson served on a number of boards and committees, and though he was nominated for a number of judicial seats, he was never appointed. He married Arlene A. Auchard and had three children, John Anderson III, Kerry Diane, and King David.
From the description of Correspondence of the governor's office. 1961-1964. (Kansas State Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 43481097
