Robert J. Cornell was born in Gladstone, Michigan on Dec. 16, 1919, and attended Green Bay and De Pere parochial schools, and received his B.A. at St. Norbert College in 1941. Following his ordination as a Norbertine priest and the award of a Ph.D. from Catholic University in 1957, he taught at St. Norbert College in De Pere. In his self-published autobiographical sketch he ascribes the origin of his political activism to the negative reaction he received to a 1961 speech to a local group of Catholic laity on the topic “Christian Social Teaching - An Answer to Communism.” He became an active participant in Green Bay area Democratic Party affairs and was also an early public opponent of U.S. participation in the Vietnam War. In the late 1960s he was appointed as Democratic Party chairman for the 8th Congressional District. In 1970 he decided to oppose the 8th District's fourteen-term Republican congressman John Byrnes. He lost that election, but the experience convinced him to try again in 1972. Byrnes had decided not to run again in 1972 leaving the field open. Cornell's Republican opponent was Harold Froehlich, Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Although Cornell lost again, he did so by a narrow margin. In 1974, the year of the Nixon resignation, Cornell tried for a third time and was successful in defeating Froehlich. In 1976, Cornell narrowly retained his seat in a repeat contest with Froehlich. In 1978, however, Cornell was decisively defeated by State Assemblyman Toby Roth.
During his four years in Washington, Cornell was one of only two ordained Catholic priests to ever serve as a Congressman. In many ways, his service was overshadowed by the better known and more outspoken Congressman from Connecticut, Father Robert Drinan, S.J. Cornell's voting record was that of a moderate liberal voting for social welfare measures, for the ERA, for gun control, etc. He served on the committees for education and labor, and veterans' affairs. In a vote that had unanticipated repercussions for his own political future, he opposed federal funding of abortion, which Drinan actively supported.
In 1980, Cornell planned to run for Congress a sixth time in order to regain his seat but was caught up in the decision by the Vatican to prohibit priests in the United States from running for elective office. This decision was primarily aimed at Drinan's abortion votes, but Cornell was affected nonetheless. Having to make a choice between seeking office and following ecclesiastical directives, he gave up on pursuing an active political career. Drinan also decided to obey this command and resigned his seat. Cornell returned to De Pere to teach history and political science at St. Norbert College.
