- Born in Gladstone, Michigan,
- Bested 28
aug. 1938,
- Solemn profession 17
iun. 1943,
- Ordained 17
iun.
1944.
Father Cornell was born on
December 16, 1919, in Gladstone, MI, to Ralph and Veronica (Sullivan)
Cornell. In 1928 the family moved to
Green Bay where Robert became a member of St. Francis Xavier Cathedral parish.
He attended Cathedral Junior High School and was very active in parish affairs.
In 1937 he was named the outstanding Catholic boy of Green Bay.
In June of 1937 Father Cornell graduated from St. Norbert High School, De Pere,
WI. He received a B.A. degree in
philosophy and sociology from St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI in June, 1941;
was awarded an M.A. degree in history in 1945 and a Ph.D. in history in 1957 –
both from Catholic University, Washington, D.C.
Father Cornell entered St. Norbert Abbey where he was vested as a novice on
August 28, 1938. He professed Simple
Vows on June 17, 1940, and Solemn Vows on June 17, 1943.
He was ordained to the Priesthood on June 17, 1944.
Academic assignments for Father Cornell
include serving on the faculty at St. Norbert High School and later Abbot
Pennings High School, De Pere, WI and Southeast Catholic High School,
Philadelphia, PA where he was also Vice-Principal.
Father Cornell was a Professor of History and Government at St. Norbert
College throughout most of his long teaching career and was the Dean of Students
at the college for five years. He also taught history at Catholic University in
Washington, D.C., and in San Antonio, Texas.
Father Cornell was honored to serve in the
United States Congress as the Eighth District Representative from 1975 to 1979.
He was only the second Catholic priest to be elected to the U.S. Congress where
he was a member of the Education and Labor Committee as well as the Veterans
Affairs Committee. He was particularly involved in efforts to reform the welfare
system and to get more educational benefits for Vietnam vets. Most of his salary
as congressman was used for internships in his Washington office for residents
of Northeastern Wisconsin and for student aid at all the schools of higher
education in the Eighth Congressional District. In the Sesquicentennial
supplement in the Wisconsin diocesan papers in 1998, Father Cornell was included
among “45 Who Made a Difference” in the first century and a half of
Wisconsin Catholic history. In 1984
in recognition of Father Cornell’s service in Congress, his contributions to
education, and his community activities, the Governor of Wisconsin on the
occasion of Cornell’s 65th birthday, proclaimed December 16th
Bob Cornell Day in Wisconsin. He was
also included in the list of the “100 most interesting” people in
Northeastern Wisconsin published by the Green Bay Press-Gazette in the year
2000.
For about 20 years Father Cornell assisted
on weekends at Corpus Christi Church in Sturgeon Bay where he directed
activities for the youth of the area, especially rock concerts with nationally
famous entertainers. Later he handled country and rock shows in Green Bay with
the proceeds being used for scholarships for St. Norbert College students and
graduates. In his late years Father Cornell served as chaplain at Nicolet
Terrace in De Pere.
Father Cornell is the author of the standard
work on the role of Theodore Roosevelt in the great anthracite coal strike of
1902. He has also written his political memoirs (Is
There a Priest in the House?) as well as numerous articles on historical
and educational topics for encyclopedias and magazines. He co-authored a book on
the history of St. Norbert College as part of the Centennial celebration in
1998.
Included among the positions held by Father
Cornell are chairman of the Eighth Congressional District of the Democratic
Party, member of the State Administrative Committee of the Democratic Party of
Wisconsin, vice-president of Scholarships, Inc., member of the Board of Trustees
of Gallaudet College, and member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Commission on
Judicial Ethics. He was a founding
member of Labor Historians and is listed as a Distinguished Member of the
Organization of American Historians.
Father Cornell is survived by the Norbertine
Community; a niece, Patti (Cornell) Heil of Centennial, CO; a nephew, William
Cornell of Arlington, VA; several cousins; and many “adopted” sons.
His parents and his brother, Paul, preceded him in death.
