Robert John Cornell


Robert John Cornell O.Praem was a Roman Catholic priest and American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin from 1975 to 1979.

Early life and education

Robert John Cornell was born in Gladstone, Michigan, and attended parochial schools in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He earned his B.A. from St. Norbert College in 1941 and his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from The Catholic University of America in 1957. On June 17, 1944, he was ordained a priest of the Norbertine Order after six years in the order.

Priesthood

Cornell taught social sciences in parochial schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1941–47. He taught at St. Norbert High School, Abbot Pennings High School, and St. Norbert College. He was a professor of history and political science at St. Norbert College from 1947–74, and again from 1979 until his death in 2009.

Political career

He was the chairman of the Eighth Congressional District of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 1969 to 1974, and was a member of the State Administrative Committee of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 1969 to 1974.
Cornell was elected as a member of the Democratic Party from in 1974, to the 94th United States Congress, defeating freshman Republican Harold Vernon Froehlich to become the first Democrat to represent this district in 30 years, and only the fourth to represent this district or its predecessors in the 20th century.
He was reelected in 1976 to the 95th Congress, becoming the first Democrat to win a second term in what is now the 8th in 62 years. However, he lost to State Representative Toby Roth in 1978 in a bid for the 96th Congress. In 1980, he decided to seek a rematch against Roth, but abandoned his bid when the Vatican ordered all priests to withdraw from politics.
He was the second and last Roman Catholic priest to serve as a voting representative in the United States Congress.
Cornell lived in De Pere, Wisconsin, until his death at the age of 89 in 2009. "I lived my life for the two greatest things in this world, my God and my country," he said during a speech he made at St. Norbert College.