George Q. Cannon was born in Liverpool, England on January 11, 1827. John Taylor, George Q.'s uncle and future president of the L.D.S. Church, baptized him and his family in 1840. After emigrating to the United States, the Cannon family resided in Nauvoo, Illinois, where Cannon was employed as a printer for the "Times and Seasons" and the "Nauvoo Neighbor". John Taylor was the editor of these publicationns. In the autumn of 1847 George Q. joined other persecuted LDS Church members in a trek to Salt Lake City. Brigham Young appointed him in 1849 to lead a mission to the Hawaiian islands where he was instrumental in establishing a LDS community and in translating the Book of Mormon into the native language. Cannon's missionary and publication careers continued when Young chose him to serve as president of the Oregon and California mission in 1856. While living in San Francisco, George Q. collaborated with Parley Pratt in the founding of the "Western Standard". Brigham Young rewarded Cannon for his devoted service to the faith by ordaining him to as a member of the prestigious Council of Twelve Apostles in 1860. Shortly thereafter, he was dispatched to Europe where he served as president of the mission. While living in England, Cannon worked as the editor of "Millenial Star". Subsequent to returning to the United States, George Q. labored as the editor of the "Deseret News", published "The Juvenile Instructor", became the first head of the church's Sunday School program, authored several books of a religious nature, including a work on the life of Joseph Smith, and penned innumerable discourses and editorials. His interest in and commitment to the educational culture of Utah was evidenced in his persuading Brigham Young to create the Brigham Young Academy and in his acting as the chancellor of Deseret University. He was an officer in several business ventures, including the Union Pacific Railroad, Z.C.M.I., Zions Saving Bank and Trust, Utah Power and Light, Utah Sugar, and his family's publishing company.

Following his appointment to the Council of Twelve at the age of 33, Cannon retained and gained the confidence of four L.D.S. prophets during the years of 1860 until 1901. Presidents Young, Taylor, Woodruff, and Snow selected him to serve on the Council of Twelve Apostles and and called him to sit as a counselor in the First Presidency. Cannon also became involved in Utah's political life prior to the federal grant of statehood. A member of the Republican Party, he was Utah's territorial representative to the U.S. Congress for four terms (1873-1881), being denied a fifth term due to the fact that Cannon, the father of thirty-two children, was a polygamist with five wives. In 1888, Cannon entered a plea of guilty to the charge of unlawful cohabitation and spent six months in Utah's federal pentitentiary. George Q. Cannon died in Monterey, California on April 12, 1901.