Capitol Hill in Salt Lake City in Salt Lake County, Utah — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Martha Hughes Cannon
1857-1932
Photographed by Jeremy Snow, June 9, 2026
1. Martha Hughes Cannon Marker
A woman of courage and convictions, she set her goals and, despite hardships, achieved them. She started teaching elementary school at age 14, then became a typesetter, and by age 19 had completed her chemistry degree. She graduated with her medical degree from the University of Michigan on her 23rd birthday, July 1 1880. In 1882 she received an advanced medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania - the only woman in a class of 75 - plus a degree in elocution and oratory. She returned to Utah at age 25 and opened a private practice. Her appointment as second resident physician at Deseret Hospital resulted in her meeting Angus Munn Cannon, hospital superintendent, whom she married in 1884. She founded the first training school for nurses in 1888. Elected to the Utah State Senate in the state's first election Nov. 3, 1896, she initiated legislation to improve health conditions and to upgrade the status of women and children.
Sculpture by Laura Lee Stay
Dedicated July 24, 1996
Utah
this page online
Erected 1996 by Martha Hughes Cannon Centennial Statue Commission.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Science & Medicine • Women. A significant historical year for this entry is 1857.
Location. 40° 46.677′ N, 111° 53.27′ W. Marker is in Salt Lake City, Utah, in Salt Lake County. It is in Capitol Hill. It is on East Capitol Street. Statue located near the north entrance to the Utah State Capitol Building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 120 E Capitol Street, Salt Lake City UT 84103, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Wasatch Front and in Greater Salt Lake. It is also in the American Mountain West and in Colorado Plateau. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and also Mexicos Alta California.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Thomas L. Kane (within shouting distance of this marker); Marriner Stoddard Eccles (within shouting distance of this marker); Daniel Cowan Jackling (within shouting distance of this marker); Statue of Massassoit (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Edward H. Harriman (about 600 feet away); The Mormon Battalion (about 600 feet away); Old City Hall (approx. 0.2 miles away); Council Hall, Old City Hall (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Salt Lake City.
Also see . . . Martha Hughes Cannon (Wikipedia). Overview:
Martha Maria "Mattie" Hughes Cannon (July 1, 1857 July 10, 1932) was a Welsh-American(Submitted on June 11, 2026.)politician, physician, Utah women's rights advocate, suffragist, and a polygamous wife. Her family immigrated to the United States as converts to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and traveled West to settle in the Utah Territory with other church members. She started working at the age of fourteen, and at sixteen she enrolled in the University of Deseret (now called the University of Utah), receiving a bachelor's degree in Chemistry. She later attended the University of Michigan and received an M.D.Photographed by Jeremy Snow, June 9, 20262. Martha Hughes Cannon Statue and Marker
She became the fourth of six wives in a polygamous marriage to Angus M. Cannon, a prominent Latter-day Saint leader during the anti-polygamy crusade. Cannon exiled herself to Europe so she wouldn't have to testify against her husband and others. Upon returning to Utah, Cannon worked as a doctor and fought for women's rights. She helped put women enfranchisement into Utah's constitution when it was granted statehood in 1896. On November 3, 1896, Cannon became the first female state senator elected in the United States, defeating her own husband, who was also on the ballot. Cannon was the author of Utah sanitation laws and was a founder and member of Utah's first State Board of Health.
Charles Roscoe Savage (courtesy of Brigham Young University Library), circa 1880
3. Martha Hughes Cannon
Credits. This page was last revised on June 11, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 11, 2026, by Jeremy Snow of Cedar City, Utah. This page has been viewed 7 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 11, 2026, by Jeremy Snow of Cedar City, Utah. 3. submitted on June 11, 2026. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
