Cavendish W. Cannon

Cavendish Wells Cannon (February 1, 1895 – October 7, 1962) was a long-time United States foreign service officer and diplomat.

Early life

Cannon was born in Salt Lake City in 1895 to newspaper editor John Q. Cannon and Utah State Representative Elizabeth Anne Wells Cannon.

Family history He was the grandson of Salt Lake City Mayor and Lieutenant General Daniel H. Wells and US Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from Utah Territory's at-large district and prominent LDS early member George Q. Cannon. Daniel was a descendant of English immigrant Thomas Welles, an early Colonial Governor of Connecticut and John Webster, 5th Governor of Connecticut. George Cannon immigrated from England in 1842.

Education and military service He went through the Salt Lake City School District, then graduated from University of Utah.

Cannon served as US Ambassador to Yugoslavia from 1947 to 1949, then as Envoy to Syria from 1950 to 1952, then US Ambassador to Portugal from 1952 to 1953, In 1948, he was the chair of the US delegation to the Danube River Conference of 1948.

Personal life Cannon was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He married Marie Lucia Otilie "Lilla" Horzetsky in January 1921. He died of a heart attack at Morón Air Base, near Morón de la Frontera, Spain just a few days after having a gallbladder surgery. He was later interred in Seville, Spain.