1. Howard Walter Cannon was an American politician from Nevada.
27 Facts About Howard Cannon
1. 2.
In 1940, Howard Cannon won his first election as county attorney for Washington County, Utah.
3.
Howard Cannon later served in the Army Air Forces Air Reserve as a major general.
4.
In 1949, Howard Cannon returned to politics, winning election as city attorney for Las Vegas, Nevada.
5.
Howard Cannon 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.
6.
The scandal contributed to Howard Cannon losing re-election in 1982 to Republican challenger Chic Hecht.
7.
When Howard Cannon was two years old his father left for England to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years.
8.
Howard Cannon went to Woodward School in St George, close enough to his home he could walk home for lunch.
9.
Howard Cannon delivered copies of the Deseret News around St George on horseback.
10.
Howard Cannon graduated from Dixie Junior College and received a bachelor's degree in music education from Arizona State Teachers College in 1933.
11.
Also during his law school years Howard Cannon competed in rodeos and learned to be an airplane pilot.
12.
Also in the summer of 1936, Howard Cannon began dating Dorothy Pace of Alamo, Nevada.
13.
Howard Cannon became a lawyer after passing the bar exams in Arizona, Utah and Nevada.
14.
Howard Cannon served as a reference and research attorney for the Utah State Senate in 1939, and won election as county attorney of Washington County, Utah in 1940.
15.
Howard Cannon spent 42 days trying to return to the Allied lines with the assistance of the Dutch underground.
16.
In 1956, Cannon ran for the US House of Representatives to succeed Republican incumbent C Clifton Young, who ran for the US Senate, but lost the Democratic primary to former Congressman Walter Baring, who then won the general election.
17.
Howard Cannon was nearly defeated in his first re-election bid in 1964, holding off Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt in one of the closest Senate elections ever.
18.
On election night, one of the networks actually projected that Howard Cannon had lost, but several precincts did not report in until the next morning and gave Howard Cannon enough votes to secure a second term.
19.
Howard Cannon was re-elected with far less difficulty in 1970 by defeating Washoe County District Attorney William Raggio.
20.
Howard Cannon won re-election easily over former Representative David Towell in 1976.
21.
Howard Cannon testified that he did not know Williams or his associates and denied being offered a bribe, but other witnesses corroborated the story, and Williams was convicted.
22.
Howard Cannon was challenged in the 1982 Democratic primary by US Representative Jim Santini and won winning by about 4,500 votes but lost the general election to Republican nominee Chic Hecht, a former state senator and businessman.
23.
Howard Cannon helped increase funding for Nellis Air Force Base, turning Nellis into one of the most important military facilities worldwide.
24.
Howard Cannon introduced the Airline Deregulation Act, a bill signed in 1978 by President Jimmy Carter that stopped the federal government from regulating airfare and airline routes.
25.
Howard Cannon had an interest in the rules and administration of the Congress, serving as chairman of several committees on that subject, including the Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies and Committee on Rules and Administration.
26.
Howard Cannon chaired the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation from 1978 to 1981.
27.
On March 5,2002, Howard Cannon died at age 90 in a Las Vegas hospice due to congestive heart failure; he was previously diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.