William Hannon (1879–1950) was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest from the

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who served as the fourth president of

St. Ambrose College St Ambrose College is a Christian Brothers' Roman Catholic boys' grammar school in Hale Barns, Altrincham, Greater Manchester, England. It was founded in 1946 by Dr Joseph Robertson. In 2012 the school became an academy, and was completely re-b ...

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, from 1915 to 1926. Hannon was born March 21, 1879, in Holbrook, Iowa. He graduated from St. Ambrose College in 1901 and studied for the priesthood at Kenrick Seminary near

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

. He was ordained a priest in St. Louis in June 1903. He was assigned to the faculty of St. Ambrose and taught

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and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

at the school from 1904 until 1912. He was named vice president, a position in which he served until 1915 when he took over the presidency. Hannon led the first endowment drive which raised $600,000 and oversaw the construction of the first

gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...

nasium. Construction of Davis Hall was also begun when Hannon was president. Up to this time Ambrose Hall was the only building at St. Ambrose. He also updated the faculty and the curriculum. Each year he sent one or two of the priests on the faculty to a university to earn graduate degrees. He also increased the faculty’s salaries to make the positions more attractive. The president’s salary was raised to $1,000 a year, and the priests on the faculty were paid $300 a year and after 15 years they were paid $800 a year. After his term as president ended in 1926 Hannon was named the

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of St. Mathias Church in

Muscatine, Iowa Muscatine ( ) is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,797 at the time of the 2020 census, an increase from 22,697 in 2000. The county seat of Muscatine County, it is located along the Mississippi River. The lo ...

. In 1935 Pope

Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City from ...

named him a

Domestic Prelate Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

upon the nomination of Bishop

Henry Rohlman Henry Patrick Rohlman (March 17, 1876 – September 13, 1957) was a German-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Davenport in Iowa from 1927 to 1944 and as coadjutor archbishop and archbishop of the Archd ...

.Schmidt, 350 Msgr. Hannon served as chairman of the diocesan building commission under Bishop

Ralph Hayes Ralph Leo Hayes S.T.D. (September 21, 1884 – July 5, 1970) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Helena in Montana from 1933 to 1935, and as the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Da ...

. He died in 1950 at the age of 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hannon, William 1879 births 1950 deaths St. Ambrose University faculty Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport Presidents of St. Ambrose University American Roman Catholic priests People from Iowa County, Iowa People from Davenport, Iowa Religious leaders from Iowa Catholics from Iowa