Michael V. Gannon was a historian, educator, priest, and war correspondent.
Early life and education
Dr. Michael Valentine Gannon, Ph.D. was born in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, into a military family. Following the death of his father in 1939, his family moved to Florida from Washington, D.C. He attended high school at St. Joseph Academy in St. Augustine, Florida. Gannon received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and received a Ph.D in history from the University of Florida in 1962. He trained for the priesthood at the American College of the University of Louvain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
Career
During high school and college, he worked various jobs, including radio hosting at WFOY-Radio, contributing as a sportswriter to the St. Augustine Record, and announcing shows at Marineland. He was ordained as a priest in 1959 in the Diocese of St. Augustine. He served as the chaplain of in Gainesville, Florida. He also served as Director of Mission Nombre de Dios in St. Augustine, Florida from 1962-1967. It was during his directorship that St. Augustine's 400th anniversary was celebrated and the Great Cross commemorating the founding of the mission was installed. Gannon became a faculty member in the history and religion departments at the University of Florida in 1967, beginning a teaching career of nearly 40 years. He resigned from the priesthood in 1976 and began teaching full-time at the University of Florida. Gannon directed the Institute for Early Contact Period Studies, which conducted research into the voyages of Christopher Columbus and early interactions between Europeans and Native Americans. He served as the Assistant Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences from 1976-84, and as Associate Dean beginning in 1984. He was appointed Distinguished Service Professor of History by the University in 1992. He retired as a professor emeritus of history in 1998, but continued teaching until 2003. Gannon was a prolific author of many books and articles on American history, religion, and military history. In 1968, he was a war correspondent in Vietnam for the Catholic magazine America and the NationalCatholic News Service. His childhood in St. Augustine inspired a lifelong interest in Spanish colonial history, particularly in Florida. His first two books, Rebel Bishop and The Cross in the Sand explore Florida's early years of settlement. He was also well known for his 1990 book Operation Drumbeat, which discussed the history of Germany's early U-boats and became a national bestseller. Gannon served as a member and chairman of several organizations on the local, state, and national level. He was a member of the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board from 1969-1997 and served as its chairman twice; from 1975-1980, and 1976-77. He was a member of the National Park Service Advisory Board for Southeastern States from 1972-77 and served as its chairman from 1976-77. He was appointed to the National de Soto Expedition Trail Commission by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior in 1992. Gannon was also a board member of Marineland of Florida, Inc., and University of Florida Historic St. Augustine, Inc., a successor to the Preservation Board.
Personal life and legacy
Gannon was well known for his study of Spanish colonial history and considered an expert in the field. He was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including Knight Commander of the Order of Isabel the Catholic, granted by King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Citizen of the Year from the City of Gainesville in 1972, and the Order of La Florida from the City of St. Augustine in 2007, the city's highest honor. Gannon died on April 11, 2017. He was married to Genevieve Haugen, who survived him.
