author
Frank J. Cannon
1859–1933
A journalist and politician from Utah’s early statehood era, he became the state’s first U.S. senator and later wrote sharply about Mormon politics and power in the American West.
1 Audiobook
Under the Prophet in Utah; the National Menace of a Political Priestcraft
by Frank J. Cannon, Harvey Jerrold O'Higgins
About the author
Born in Salt Lake City in 1859, Frank J. Cannon was the son of prominent Latter-day Saint leader George Q. Cannon. He studied at the University of Utah, worked in newspapers in California and Utah, and built a public career as Utah moved from territory to statehood.
Cannon served as Utah’s delegate to Congress and then became one of the first U.S. senators after statehood, holding that Senate seat from 1896 to 1899. Sources also describe him as an energetic advocate on silver policy and a well-known voice in western politics.
He is also remembered for his later writing, especially his memoir Under the Prophet in Utah, which offered an insider’s, often critical account of church influence and political life in Utah. He died in Denver in 1933.