Henry Justin Allen

Who was Henry Justin Allen?

Henry Justin Allen was the 21st Governor of Kansas and U.S. Senator from Kansas.

Allen was born in Warren County, Pennsylvania to John and Rebecca Elizabeth Allen. His family moved to Kansas in 1870, where they settled in Clay County.

Before becoming active in politics, Allen acquired ownership of newspapers throughout Kansas, beginning with the Manhattan Nationalist in Manhattan, Kansas in 1894. He owned the Topeka State Journal with Arthur J. Carruth, Jr and William P. Snyder. Generally forward-looking in his outlook, he hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design his home in Wichita, Kansas. Allen's home is the only residence designed by Wright in Kansas.

Allen was in France with William Allen White inspecting the facilities provided to Kansas soldiers of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I when his party nominated him for the office of governor. During the campaign in 1918, Allen never spent any of his own money and learned about his nomination from a Paris newspaper. He served from 1919 to 1923.

Allen expressed some admiration for Benito Mussolini's policies in the 1920s and pushed through a similar industrial court provision.