Charles Patrick Roberts
Politician. Republican. Born: April 20, 1936, Topeka, Kansas. Served in U.S. House of Representatives, 1st District: January 3, 1981, to January 3, 1997. Served in U.S. Senate: January 3, 1997, to January 3, 2021.
Pat Roberts was born in Topeka on April 20, 1936, graduated from 
Holton High School in 1954, and received a B.A. from Kansas State University in 1958. He was a captain in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1958 to 1962 and subsequently publisher of a Litchfield Park, Arizona, newspaper from 1962 until 1967 when he joined the staff of U.S. Senator Frank Carlson as administrative assistant. In 1968 Roberts took a similar position with Congressman Keith Sebelius, which he held until his election to Congress in 1980 (served, January 3, 1981-January 2, 1997). He left the House, where he served for a time as chair of the Committee on Agriculture, after being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996; Roberts was reelected in 2002 and served as chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence from 2003 to 2007. He was appointed chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee in 2015. He did not seek reelection in 2020.
He was named the Native Sons and Daughters' Kansan of the Year in 1998. He was named the Native Sons and Daughters' Distinguished Kansan in 1999. Inducted into the Kansas Walk of Honor at the Kansas State Capitol in 2022.
Entry: Roberts, Charles Patrick
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: June 2011
Date Modified: September 2022
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
