Robert Talkington

{{Short description|American politician}} {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Robert Talkington | office1 = President of the Kansas Senate | term_start1 = 1985 | term_end1 = 1989 | predecessor1 = Ross Doyen | successor1 = Bud Burke | order2 = Member of the Kansas State Senate from the 12th District | term_start2 = 1973 | term_end2 = 1988 | predecessor2 = | successor2 = Doug Walker | order3 = Member of the Kansas House of Representatives from the 10th District | term_start3 = 1969 | term_end3 = 1972 | predecessor3 = | successor3 = | image = Robert V Talkington.jpg | image_size = | birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1929|8|23}}<ref name="kslib">{{cite web |url=https://kslib.info/BusinessDirectoryii.aspx?ysnShowAll=0&lngNewPage=0&txtLetter=&txtZipCode=&txtCity=&txtState=&txtBusinessName=Talkington%2C+Robert&lngBusinessCategoryID=0&txtCustomField1=&txtCustomField2=&txtCustomField3=&txtCustomField4=&txtAreaCode= |title=Kansas Legislators, Past and Present - Talkington, Robert |author= |date= |website=kslib.info |publisher=State Library of Kansas |access-date=December 6, 2022}}</ref> | birth_place = Dallas County, Texas | death_date = {{death date|mf=yes|2010|12|26}} | death_place = Kansas City, Kansas | party = Republican | spouse = Donna Jill Schmaus (m. March 25, 1951) | children = 7 (2 died in infancy)<ref name="resolution">{{cite web |url=http://www.kslegislature.org/li_2012/b2011_12/year1/measures/documents/hr6012_enrolled.pdf |title=House Resolution No. 6012 - A Resolution in Honor of Robert Talkington |author=Sloan, Tom |date= |website=kslegislature.org |publisher=Kansas State Legislature |access-date=December 6, 2022}}</ref> | alma_mater = University of Kansas (B.A. and J.D.) }}

'''Robert Van Talkington''' (August 23, 1929–December 26, 2010) was an American politician who served as a Republican in the Kansas State Senate and Kansas House of Representatives from 1969 to 1988.

Talkington was born in Texas, and attended Tyler Junior College before transferring to the University of Kansas on a football and baseball scholarship; he graduated with a bachelor's degree in education in 1951. After gaining his B.A., he entered the University of Kansas School of Law, graduating there in 1954.<ref name="resolution"/>

Talkington served in the U.S. Army counterintelligence corps during the Korean War.<ref name="obit">{{cite web |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/cjonline/name/robert-talkington-obituary?id=22880390 |title=Robert Talkington Obituary |author= |date=December 28, 2010 |website= |publisher=Topeka Capital-Journal |access-date=December 6, 2022}}</ref> He worked as a lawyer in Iola, Kansas; he was in private practice and also served as the county attorney for Allen County, Kansas as well as city attorney for several nearby towns.<ref name="resolution"/>

In 1968, Talkington won election to the Kansas House. He served there for two terms, and in 1972 successfully ran for the Kansas Senate. In the Senate, he served four full terms, and was elected President of the Senate for his final term. After his time in the Senate, Talkington was a member of the Kansas Board of Regents from 1996 to 1999.<ref name="resolution"/> He died of complications from a stroke.<ref name="obit"/>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talkington, Robert Van}} Category:Republican Party Kansas state senators Category:Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives Category:Presidents of the Kansas Senate Category:Kansas Republicans Category:People from Iola, Kansas Category:University of Kansas alumni Category:University of Kansas School of Law alumni Category:United States Army personnel of the Korean War Category:Kansas city attorneys Category:District attorneys in Kansas Category:Kansas Board of Regents Category:1929 births Category:2010 deaths Category:20th-century members of the Kansas Legislature