Robert John Cornell

Robert John Cornell OPraem ( born December 16, 1919 in Gladstone, Delta County, Michigan, † 10 May, 2009 De Pere, Wisconsin ) was an American politician and Roman Catholic priest.

Cornell was born in 1919 in Gladstone, Michigan. At the age of eight he moved with his family to Green Bay, Wisconcin. He attended St. Norbert College in DePere, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1941. His Master of Arts and his Ph.D. he got in 1947 and 1957 respectively at the Catholic University of America in Washington.

Cornell, who was joined in 1938 the Premonstratensian Order, received on 17 June 1944, the priesthood and worked as a teacher at various parochial schools in Philadelphia. From 1947 to 1974 Cornell was professor of history and political science at St. Norbert College. Since the late 1960s to Cornell operated politically in the Democratic Party and has held various internal party offices there. He was, among other things, 1969-1974 Chairman of the Democrats in the eighth congressional district.

After two unsuccessful attempts in 1970 and 1972, Cornell was finally in 1974 elected to the Congress of the United States and re-elected in 1976 and thus represented the state of Wisconsin from 3 January 1975 to January 3, 1979 at the U.S. House of Representatives. In the elections of 1978, however, he could not defend his seat. In 1980 he tried his seat recover, but withdrew due to a papal decree that all priests suggesting the abandonment of political office, on May 6 from the electoral race back and ended his political career. Cornell now devoted himself again to his teaching activities, since 1979 he was again professor at St. Norbert College.

Cornell was next to Robert Drinan one of only two Roman Catholic priests in Congress. During his time as an MP he served Drinan, who represented from 1971 to 1981 the state of Massachusetts in Washington, often as a model.