He was educated at Hertford Grammar School where he gained a scholarship to Peterhouse, Cambridge, and gained his PhD at Bristol University (where he was appointed Lecturer in 1961 and Senior Lecturer in 1967 as well as Reader in 1970).
In 1976 he was appointed Chairman of Modern History at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Dean of the Faculty of Arts in 1979.
He was Pro Vice Chancellor from 1983 to 1986 and was also employed by the History of Parliament Trust.
[1] He was vice-chairman of the University Grants Committee in the period till its abolition in 1990.
[2] Cannon died in Newcastle upon Tyne in October 2012.