Howard Walter Cannon

Howard Walter Cannon served as a Senator from Nevada in the United States Congress from 1959 to 1983. A member of the Democratic Party, Howard Walter Cannon contributed to the legislative process during 4 terms in office.

Howard Walter Cannon’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, Howard Walter Cannon participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Howard Walter Cannon (January 26, 1912 – March 5, 2002) was an American politician from Nevada. A member of the Democratic Party, he served four terms in the United States Senate representing Nevada from 1959 to 1983. Born in St. George, Utah, Cannon graduated from Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona Law School. In 1940, Cannon won his first election as county attorney for Washington County, Utah. The following year with the start of World War II, Cannon served in the United States Army for a year and then in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1946, rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Cannon later served in the Army Air Forces Air Reserve as a major general. In 1949, Cannon returned to politics, winning election as city attorney for Las Vegas, Nevada. After four consecutive terms in that office, Cannon defeated Republican incumbent U.S. Senator George W. Malone in the 1958 election. As senator, Cannon chaired multiple committees, including the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Committee on Rules and Administration. Cannon also sponsored the Airline Deregulation Act, a bill signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 that lowered airfares through deregulation of the airline industry. Cannon’s final Senate term was mired in a scandal after the revelation of a 1979 meeting with Teamsters union president Roy Lee Williams where Cannon was offered a bribe to block the Motor Carrier Act of 1980. The scandal contributed to Cannon losing re-election in 1982 to Republican challenger Chic Hecht. After leaving the Senate, Cannon remained in Washington as an aviation and defense consultant for nearly a decade before retiring to Las Vegas in the mid-1990s.