author
Frank J. Cannon
1859–1933
A journalist turned politician, he became Utah’s first U.S. senator at the moment the territory entered statehood. His career later took a dramatic turn as he broke with old allies and wrote sharply about religion and politics 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 on January 25, 1859, Frank Jenne Cannon studied at the University of Utah and began working in newspapers before moving into public life. He worked as a reporter in San Francisco and Ogden, became editor of the Ogden Herald, and built a reputation as a strong writer and public speaker.
Cannon played a visible role in Utah’s shift from territory to state. He served as Utah’s territorial delegate to Congress and, in 1896, became the first U.S. senator from the new state of Utah, serving until 1899. His political path was not simple: he was at different times associated with Republican and Silver Republican politics, reflecting the unsettled debates of the era.
Later in life, he became known as an outspoken critic of church influence in politics and co-wrote Under the Prophet in Utah, a memoir and exposé that remains part of the historical conversation about Utah’s public life. He died in Denver, Colorado, on July 25, 1933.