G. T. Blankenship

George Tony Blankenship was born in Oklahoma City on March 11, 1928, to George Tony Blankenship and Daisy Dean Blankenship. He attended Jefferson Elementary, Taft Junior High, and Classen High School. He went on to the University of Oklahoma and received a Bachelor of Arts. He was then admitted to the OU College of Law where he earned a Bachelor of Laws in 1954 and became an attorney. Blankenship served in the United States Air Force between 1954 and 1956 as a judge advocate for the 23rd Fighter Group. He entered private practice in 1956. ==Political career==

In 1960, Blankenship was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives. In the 1966 general election, Blankenship became the first Republican in state history to be elected Attorney General of Oklahoma. He succeeded Charles R. Nesbitt. Blankenship served one term as attorney general from 1967 to 1971. After leaving office, Blankenship opened his private practice of law in Oklahoma City. He would later become chairman of the board of directors for the Bank of Nichols Hills in Nichols Hills, Oklahoma. While engaged in private practice, Blankenship would become actively involved with the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. ==University of Oklahoma==

Blankenship was appointed to the board of regents of the University of Oklahoma in 1990 by Republican Governor of Oklahoma Henry Bellmon. He served two terms as chairman of the board of regents in 1995 and 1996. Governor Frank Keating reappointed him to the board in 1997. He was elected chairman again in 2003. His second term ended in 2004, after which he retired. The Sarkeys Foundation has established the G.T. Blankenship Chair for Alzheimer's and Aging Research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Blankenship and his wife established the G.T. and Libby Blankenship Chair in the History of Liberty, the purpose of which is to emphasize the importance of undergraduate teaching and focus on historical and contemporary issues of freedom. ==Personal life and death==

Blankenship and his wife, Libby, lived in Oklahoma City and had three children. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2001. ==References==