In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, the title character became involved with a series of major events and people in mid-twentieth-century American history. Spoiler alert—the movie is an utter fabrication. If you want a real-life Forrest Gump, look no further than the life narrative of Michael Gannon, whose story tells us that truth is stranger than fiction, and infinitely more important and interesting. Unlike Gump, who wandered rather aimlessly through life to randomly meet famous characters, Michael Gannon was an erudite, well-read, thoughtful intellectual whose connections improved the lives of Floridians for decades.
Born in 1927 in Oklahoma into a military family, Gannon moved with his recently widowed mother and two brothers to Florida in 1940, settling in St. Augustine. He attended St. Joseph’s Academy there, but his wide-ranging interests included much more than classroom learning. He delivered papers to the home of Zora Neale Hurston; he worked as an announcer at Marineland, the tourist attraction owned by Norton Baskin, husband of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings; he wrote for the sports pages of the local paper; he even served as a broadcaster on a radio station in town. That stentorian, mellifluous radio voice served him well throughout his various careers—as a football announcer in South Carolina, as a beloved Catholic priest in Gainesville, as a longtime history professor at the University of Florida, and as host of the public television interview series Conversations. It was said that people would even listen to Gannon reading the phone book, because his voice was so amazing.
Gannon left St. Augustine to attend college in Washington D.C., where he received his bachelor’s and master’s from Catholic University. He continued that Catholic education when he was ordained a priest in 1959 and sent to be the chaplain of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Gainesville. He led that parish through the turbulent times of the 1960s and early ’70s—advocating for civil rights and questioning the morality of the American war in Vietnam. Many remember his calm demeanor and ability to defuse dangerous confrontations as being crucial to keeping Gainesville and the University of Florida peaceful during the anti-war and civil rights demonstrations that rocked the campus. He similarly comforted students 30 years later when he spoke at the campus 9/11 service. While serving in his parish, he received his doctorate in history from UF, beginning a long career teaching in the history department there. And what did he teach? Florida history—starting with the early Spanish period, advocating for historians to include Florida as a significant factor in the founding of America. When asked about the Pilgrim experience in New England, he would usually respond (in that baritone voice), “When Plymouth was founded, St. Augustine was up for urban renewal.”
Gannon did not just speak about Florida history within the four walls of his classroom. He traveled the state, giving public lectures and talks to residents, many of whom had no idea that Florida history did not start with Henry Flagler or Walt Disney. He also wrote numerous books on two very different aspects of Florida history—the early Spanish period, where he focused on the Spanish mission system, and Florida and World War II, where he examined the German U-boat operations off the Florida coast (something he had experienced firsthand as a high school student in St. Augustine). A master of narrative history, his works were never thesis driven and appealed to both students and the general public. He became known as “Florida’s historian” and helped spread the word about the state’s long and diverse history.
Gannon had a special affinity for St. Augustine and its relationship to Spain. He was a key participant in the 500th anniversary commemoration of Columbus’ encounter with the Americas, even being awarded the Knight Commander of the Order of Isabel la Catolica by Spanish King Juan Carlos I. A bridge at the Mission Nombre de Dios in the city was dedicated to him in 2005 and the city bestowed the Order of La Florida, its highest honor, on him two years later. It is not too far a reach to say that Spanish St. Augustine and Michael Gannon are synonymous.
In 2017, the University of Florida called Michael Gannon “A man for all seasons.” This was a man who met with President Kennedy days before he was assassinated, giving him a framed copy of a 1594 St. Augustine marriage certificate, reputedly the oldest written record in America. Gannon’s love of the Sunshine State and its history and people shown through in that moment and throughout his career.
Recognized by many public and private groups as a great Floridian, it is only fitting that Florida Humanities similarly honor him by placing Michael Gannon in its Hall of Fame.
