Famous Topekans

Karl Augustus Menninger, M.D. (1893-1990) Dr. Karl and his brother, Dr. William Claire Menninger, co-founded The Menninger Clinic with their father, Dr. C. F. Menninger, and became leaders in the treatment and prevention of mental illness. Dr. Karl is author of The Human Mind, Man Against Himself, and Love Against Hate.

Arthur Capper (1856-1951) Noted editor and politician, Capper was publisher of the Daily Capital and other Kansas papers and magazines including Capper's Weekly, Capper's Farmer, and the Kansas Kansan. Capper was governor of Kansas, 1915-1919, and U.S. Senator, 1919-1949.

Charles Monroe Sheldon (1857-1946) A Congregational Minister, Sheldon authored the book In His Steps and edited the Topeka Capital for one week in 1890 as a distinctively Christian daily paper.

Cyrus K. Holliday (1826-1900) One of the founders of Topeka, he was responsible for Topeka becoming the capital of the Kansas territory. He secured a charter for the Atchison & Topeka Railroad Co. (later the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, now Burlington Northern Santa Fe) which was organized in 1860. Prominent in the Republican Party, he was the first Mayor of Topeka (1857), and president of Merchants National Bank (now a Firstar bank) and Excelsior Coke and Gas Co.

Georgia Neese Clark Gray, a Topeka banker and businesswoman, was the first female appointed U.S. Treasurer. She served in that position from 1949-1953. Kansas Supreme Court Justice Kay McFarland is the first female to serve on the state's high court. McFarland was appointed to the Kansas Supreme Court in September 1977 by Governor Robert Bennett and became chief justice in 1995. In 1978, Kansas elected its first female U.S. Senator, Nancy Kassebaum Baker, daughter of former Kansas governor and 1936 presidential nominee Alf Landon. She became the first female from any state to be elected in her own right to a full term in the U.S. Senate.

Harry E. Gavitt (1875 - 1954) The spirit behind one of the most exciting and popular games ever invented, Gavitt's Stock Exchange was the successful Topekan entrepreneur, inventor and marketing genius, Harry E. Gavitt. During his lifetime, Harry E. Gavitt ran a number of business ventures out of Topeka, Kansas. From the Gavitt's System Regulator, "…for kidney, liver, stomach and blood troubles," to his automatic envelope stuffing machine, "…capable of handling 15,000 envelopes per hour," Harry's ideas and attitude exemplified the true American spirit.