Hawaiian Historical Society

Significant Dates in the History of Hawai‘i

4th–5th
century A.D.
  • The earliest settlers, possibly from the Marquesas Islands, begin arriving.
1778
  • Captain James Cook and the crews of the HMS Resolution and HMS Discovery sight O‘ahu, Kaua‘i, and Ni‘ihau on January 18. Cook names his discovery the Sandwich Islands in honor of his patron, the Earl of Sandwich.
  • Captain Cook leaves behind Hawai‘i’s first goats, a ram and two ewes, during a visit to Ni‘ihau February 2.
  • Captain Cook returns November 26 and begins to chart the coasts of the islands of Hawai‘i and Maui.
1779
  • Captain Cook and his ships arrive at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island on January 17.
  • On February 14, Cook and four of his marines are killed ashore by Hawaiians.
1782
  • Kamehameha I begins his campaign to unify the islands.
1793
  • Hawai‘i’s first cattle—five cows, two with calf—are brought ashore at Kealakekua Bay from Captain George Vancouver’s ship on February 22.
1795
  • Kamehameha I conquers Maui, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, and O‘ahu, in the battle of Nu‘uanu.
1796
  • Kamehameha I fails in his attempt to invade Kaua‘i.
1800
  • Aarona Keali‘iahonui, son of Kaumuali‘i, is born August 17. He was of very high Kaua‘i lineage and during his time was considered to be one of the handsomest of the ali‘i.
1803
  • The Lelia Byrd, commanded by Captain William Shaler, arrives June 21 bring the first horses to Hawai‘i.
1808
  • Grace Kama‘iku‘i, a daughter of John Young and Ka‘o‘ana‘eha, is born September 8. She will later adopt her neice, the future Queen Emma.
1809
  • King Kaumualii of Kaua‘i visits O‘ahu to meet Kamehameha I and arrange the cession of his island.
1810
  • King Kaumualii cedes his island to Kamehameha I and the Hawaiian Islands are unified under a single leader.
1814
  • Kauikeaouli (Kamehameha III) is born at Keauhou, Kona. Because his birth date was uncertain, the Privy Council in 1845 decided it was to be March 17.
1816
  • Otto von Kotzebue, commanding the Russian Navy brig Rurik, visits Hawai‘i on November 21.
  • Louis Choris, an artist aboard the ship, paints Kamehameha I from life on November 24.
1818
  • Ka‘oleioku dies February 9. He was the son of Kamehameha I and Kanekapolei and grandmother of Bernice Pauahi and Ruth Ke‘elikolani.
  • Opukahai‘a (Henry Obookiah) dies in Connecticut February 17, inspiring Protestant missionaries to come to the Sandwich Islands.
1819
  • Kamehameha I dies at Kamakahonu, Kailua-Kona, on May 8. On May 20, his son Liholiho is proclaimed Kamehameha II.
  • Louis de Freycinet, commander of the the French corvette Uranie, and leader of an exploration and scientific expedition, visits Hawai‘i on August 8.
  • The first whaleships, the Balena from New Bedford and the Equator of Newburyport, arrive in Hawaiian waters on September 29.
  • Kamehameha II and his advisors order the destruction of heiaus and an end to the kapu system, thus overthrowing the traditional Hawaiian religion.
1820
  • The brig Thaddeus arrives at Kailua, Hawai‘i, on April 4 bringing the pioneer company of American missionaries from Boston. Among them are the first foreign women to settle in the Islands.
1821
  • Honolulu's first Christian house of worship is dedicated September 15 at the location of the present Kawaiaha‘o Church.
1822
  • The first Hawaiian language lesson, The Alphabet, is printed on the Mission Press January 7.
  • Charles Reed Bishop, future husband of Princess Bernice Pauahi, is born in Glens Falls, New York, January 25.
1823
  • Keōpūolani, the queen mother, receives a Christian baptism (the first Hawaiian to be so baptized) on her deathbed and dies September 16. She is the first Hawaiian in Hawai‘i to be baptized in the Protestant faith.
  • Kamehameha II and Queen Kamamalu sail for England aboard the English whaleship L'Aigle on November 27.
1824
  • Ke‘eaumoku II dies at Pakaka, Honolulu, March 22. He served as governor of Maui and governor of Kaua‘i at different times.
  • Kaumuali‘i dies at Honolulu May 26 and is buried at Lahaina. He became ruler of Kaua‘i in 1794.
  • Queen Kamāmalu dies in London on July 8, followed by Kamehameha II on July 14.
  • High Chiefess Queen Kapiolani visits Kilauea and defies the goddess Pele by descending into the crater on December 13.
1825
  • The first sugar and coffee plantations are started in Mānoa Valley by John Wilkinson.
  • George Anson, Lord Bryon, commanding the British Navy frigate Blonde, returns the bodies of Kamehameha II and Kamamalu May 3.
  • Kauikeaouli, age eleven, is proclaimed king as Kamehameha III, under the regency of Ka‘ahumanu, on June 6.
  • Queen Ka‘ahumanu, wife of Kamehameha I and queen regent for Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III, is baptized December 4, along with her cousin Kalanimōkū, his infant son Leleiōhoku (a grandson of Kamehameha I), her sister Pi‘ia, Deborah Kapule, and Gideon La‘anui.
1826
  • The U.S. schooner Dolphin, commanded by Lt. John Percival, arrives on January 16. It is the first American warship to visit Honolulu.
  • George Humehume Kaumuali‘i dies May 3. He left Hawai‘i as a youth and returned with the pioneer company of American missionaries in 1820.
  • Kahakuha‘akoi Wahinepio, a wife of Kamehameha I, dies May 26. She was a former governor of Maui.
  • Kalanipauahi, mother of Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani, dies June 17 in Honolulu in an epidemic.
  • The U.S. sloop of war Peacock, commanded by Captain Thomas ap Catesby Jones, arrives in Honolulu Harbor on October 21.
  • Hawai‘i's first general tax law is enacted on December 21 to provide revenue for shipbuilding and other development.
1827
  • Kalanimoku, the prime minister under Kamehameha I, II, and III, dies in Kailua-Kona February 8.
  • Catholic missionaries arrive in Hawai‘i aboard the ship Comet on July 7. The first Catholic mass of record in Hawai‘i is celebrated July 14 in Honolulu. The first Catholic baptism in Hawai‘i takes place on November 30.
  • The chiefs agree December 7 on five laws, or kanawai, prohibiting murder, theft, rum selling, prostitution, and gambling.
  • On December 8, British consul Richard Charlton and a merchants’ group in Honolulu use their influence to get the chiefs to change their December 7 decision, postponing the effective date of the laws against murder, theft, and adultery for three months and putting off adoption of laws against rum selling, prostitution, and gambling to a later date.
  • A meeting is held December 14 marking the beginning of formal legislation in the kingdom of Hawai‘i. All chiefs are present and enact prohibitions against killing, committing adultery, and stealing.
1828
  • A Catholic chapel is opened at Honolulu during January.
1829
  • Boki, governor of O‘ahu, departs December 2 on a sandalwood expedition to the South Pacific with two ships and nearly six hundred people. One ship returns in August 1830 with only twelve natives and eight foreigners on board. More than four hundred men perished, including Boki.
1830
  • Mexican and California cowboys arrive on the Big Island to teach Hawaiians the cattle business.
  • Lot Kamehameha, Kamehameha V, is born December 11. He is the son of Kekūanaō‘a and Kīna‘u.
1831
  • Lahainaluna Mission Seminary is established.
  • Naihe-Haiha, known as the Orator of the Nation and one of Kamehameha’s chief counselors, dies at Ka‘awaloa, Kona, December 29. He was married to high chiefess Kapi‘olani.
1832
  • Queen Ka‘ahumanu dies at home in Manoa Valley on June 5. She was instrumental in the fall of the kapu system and the adoption of the Christian religion.
1834
  • Alexander Liholiho (Kamehameha IV) is born February 9.
  • The first newspaper in the Hawaiian language, Ka Lama Hawaii, is run off the Lahainaluna Seminary press on February 13.
  • Hawai‘i’s first community theater, Oahu Amateur Theatre, has its first performance March 5.
  • Kapi‘olani, future wife of King Kalākaua, is born in Hilo December 31.
1835
  • William Lunalilo is born January 31. He later reigns as king of Hawai‘i for thirteen months in 1873 and 1874.
1836
  • Emma Na‘ea is born January 2. She later becomes Queen Emma, wife of Kamehameha IV.
  • Hawai‘i’s first English-language newspaper, the Sandwich Island Gazette, is published in Honolulu July 30.
  • Kalākaua, who later becomes king, is born near the base of Punchbowl, O‘ahu, November 16.
  • A treaty is negotiated between Great Britain and the Sandwich Islands on November 16.
  • Nāhi‘ena‘ena, daughter of Keōpūolani and Kamehameha I, dies at Honolulu December 30.
1837
  • The first public streets are laid out in Honolulu.
1838
  • Lydia Kamaka‘eha, later Queen Lili‘uokalani, the last reigning monarch of Hawai‘i, is born September 2.
1839
  • Kina‘u (Elizabeth Kaho‘anoku Kina‘u), kuhina nui of Hawai‘i, dies in Honolulu April 4.
  • Kaikio‘ewa, a companion of Kamehameha I and a governor of Kaua‘i, dies at Honolulu April 10.
  • Printing of the first edition of the Hawaiian Bible is completed on May 10.
  • Kamehameha III  proclaims a Declaration of Religious Rights on June 7.
1840
  • Catholic missionaries Louis Maigret, Bishop Rouchouze, and two other priests arrive in Honolulu on the Clementine May 15 and are allowed to stay and work.
  • The weekly newspaper Polynesian is established June 6 and continues to publish until December 11, 1841.
  • U.S. Exploring. Expedition, with Commodore Charles Wilkes commanding the U.S. sloop of war Vincennes, arrives in Hawai‘i on September 23.
  • Kamehameha III proclaims the first constitution of Hawai‘i on October 8.
1842
  • Joseph Kaho‘oluhi Nawahi is born January 13. He becomes a well-known artist, legislator, and one of Queen Lili‘uokalani’s principal advisors during the last months of the monarchy.
  • An English-language school for missionary children is established July 11. It is known today as Punahou School.
  • The United States recognizes the Kingdom of Hawai‘i on December 19.
1843
  • Lord George Paulet, commanding the British frigate Carysfort, arrives on February 10 and demands provisional cession of Hawai‘i to Great Britain.
  • Lord Paulet on February 15 orders the Hawaiian flag lowered and the British flag raised over Hawai‘i.
  • Admiral Richard Thomas, commanding H.M.S. flagship Dublin, arrives on July 26. He rescinds the cession under Paulet and restores sovereignty to the Islands.
  • Kamehameha II, in his restoration day speech, recites a phrase that becomes Hawaii's national motto: Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono ("The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness").
  • England and France recognize the independence of the Sandwich Islands on November 28.
1844
  • The weekly newspaper Polynesian, having been reestablished in May, becomes the “Official Journal of the Hawaian Government” on July 14 and runs until February 6, 1864.
  • Kuakini, governor of Hawai‘i from 1820 to 1844, dies at Hulihe‘e, Kona, December 9 at age fifty-three. He was called John Adams by foreigners after the U.S. president in office when Kuakini was a child.
1845
  • Hawai‘i’s first commercial photographer, Theophilus Metcalf, begins making daguerreotypes May 17.
  • Kekauluohi, also known as Auhea, dies of influenza at Pohukaina June 7. Kamehameha I selected her as a repository of ancient genealogies, legends, songs, and proverbs. Her son, William Charles Lunalilo becomes king in 1873.
1846
  • The first steam vessel to come to Hawai‘i, the British side-wheel steamer Cormorant, arrives May 22.
  • Whaleship visits to Hawai‘i peak with 596 arrivals. Of these, 429 ships anchor off Lahaina and the rest in Honolulu Harbor.
1847
  • The Thespian Theatre, the first regular theater in Hawai‘i, opens September 11 with a melodrama and a farce.
1848
  • The land division known as the Great Mahele begins January 27 and continues through March 7, dividing Hawai‘i's lands among the king and chiefs.
  • An epidemic of measles, whooping cough, and influenza takes the lives of about 10,000 people. Most of the victims are native Hawaiians.
  • The twelfth (and last) company of American Congregationalist missionaries arrives aboard the Samoser on February 26.
1849
  • Dr. G.P. Judd, Alexander Liholiho, and Lot Kamehameha depart September 11 on a tour of the United States and Europe on a mission to improve international relations.
  • Commoners are given the right to claim lands.
1850
  • The Privy Council approves the first park in the Islands January 22. It is named Thomas Square in honor of British Admiral Richard Thomas, who ended the five-month rule of Lord Paulet in 1843, restoring Hawaiian rule.
  • The legislature authorizes a contract labor system to recruit foreign workers for Hawai‘i's plantations June 21.
  • The first shipment of ice arrives in Hawai‘i from Boston via San Francisco on September 14.
  • The first volunteer fire brigade is organized November 6 under Chief Engineer William Parke.
  • The first permanent Mormon missionaries to Hawai‘i arrive on December 12.
1851
  • The Honolulu Fire Department is established January 11.
  • Kamehameha III signs a secret agreement on February 1 that places the islands under the protection of the United States.
1852
  • The first Chinese contract laborers arrive from Amoy, Fukien, China, aboard the Thetis on January 3.
  • A new constitution is promulgated by Kamehameha III on June 14, replacing the 1840 version..
1853
  • A smallpox epidemic lasts eight months and takes 5,000–6,000 lives.
1854
  • Kamehameha III dies on December 15 after thirty years on the throne and is succeeded by Alexander Liholiho, Kamebameha IV.
  • The Pacific Commercial Advertiser newspaper, at first a weekly and later a daily, is established.
1855
  • Abner Pākī, prominent chief and father of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, dies June 13 at the age of forty-seven.
  • Lava from a great eruption of Mauna Loa threatens Hilo August 11.
1856
  • King Kamehameha IV marries Emma Rooke at Kawaiaha‘o Church June 19..
1857
  • William Little Lee, former chief justice of Hawai‘i, dies at Honolulu May 28.
  • On June 12, a marine telegraph, a semaphore system erected at Diamond Head, sends signals to the downtown post office for the first time when a ship is sighted.
  • Laura Kanaholo Konia, a granddaughter of Kamehameha I, dies July 2 at age fifty. Her heir is her daughter, Bernice Pauahi.
1858
  • Prince Albert Edward Kauikeaouli, son of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, is born May 20.
1859
  • Gas lighting is introduced to Honolulu October 26. Gas is turned on, lighting the Seamen’s Bethel, the Odd Fellows Hall, newspaper offices, principal hotels, major intersections, and numerous private dwellings.
1860
  • The cornerstone of Queen's Hospital is laid July 17.
  • The steamer Kilauea makes its first regular interisland run July 18.
1861
  • Honolulu’s first opera is performed by a local amateur group at the Royal Hawaiian Theatre March 8.
  • Walter Murray Gibson arrives July 4. He plays a leading role in politics under King Kalākaua.
  • The weekly newspaper Ka Hoku O Ka Pakipika, Star of the Pacific, debuts September 26. It is the first Hawaiian-language newspaper published by native Hawaiians.
1863
  • Alexander Liholiho, Kamehameha IV, dies of asthma at age twenty-nine on November 30 and is succeeded by Lot Kamehameha, his older brother, who becomes Kamehameha V.
1864
  • Kamehameha V on August 20 decrees a new constitution that is meant to strengthen his rule.
1866
  • The first leprosy patients are taken to Kalawao on Moloka‘i’s Kalaupapa peninsula January 6.
  • Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) arrives in the Islands March 18 as a roving correspondent for a California newspaper.
  • Princess Victoria Kamamalu, a granddaughter of Kamehameha, dies at Moku‘aikaua in Kailua-Kona May 29 at the age of twenty-seven.
  • Grace Kama‘iku‘i Rooke, daughter of John Young and Ka‘o‘ana‘eha and adoptive mother of Emma Na‘ea, dies July 25 at age fifty-seven.
  • The first daily newspaper, the Hawaiian Herald, begins publication September 4.
1867
  • The cornerstone of the Anglican cathedral, St. Andrew’s, is laid in Honolulu March 5.
1868
  • Mauna Loa erupts on April 2, causing severe local tsunamis that destroy shoreline villages in Ka‘u, taking many lives.
  • The first Japanese contract laborers arrive on June 24.
  • Kekūanaō‘a dies November 24 at age seventy-seven. He was the father of Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani, King Kamehameha IV, King Kamehameha V, and Princess Victoria Kamāmalu.
1870
  • John Papa I‘i dies May 2 at the age of sixty-nine. He was a chiefly Hawaiian intellectual, holding many positions of importance.
  • Queen Kalama dies September 20 at age fifty-three. She is a descendant of the Moana family, which served the ali‘i nui of Hawai‘i Island from the time of Kalani‘ōpu‘u. She married Kamehameha III in February 1837.
  • Ice cream is sold commercially in Hawai‘i for the first time at the Criterion Coffee Saloon.
1871
  • Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole Pi‘ikoi is born at Koloa, Kaua‘i, March 26. Elected in 1902, he served twenty years as Hawai‘i delegate to the U.S. Congress.
  • A holiday in the memory of Kamehameha I is proclaimed June 11 by his grandson, Kamehameha V.
  • Roller skating comes to Hawai‘i July 22. Williams and Wallace open the Honolulu Skating Rink in Buffum’s Hall on Hotel Street.
1872
  • The cornerstone of Aliiolani Hale is laid on March 20.
  • Henry Berger arrives from Germany on June 11 to conduct the Royal Hawaiian Band. He holds this post for forty-three years.
  • An electric telegraph is in operation in downtown Honolulu October 19.
  • Kamehameha V dies on December 11.
1873
  • William Lunalilo is elected king by the legislature January 8 after sweeping a popular plebiscite.
  • Father Damien is sent to Kalaupapa Peninsula on Molokai to work with the leprosy patients.
1874
  • King Lunalilo dies of tuberculosis at age forty on February 3.
  • David Kalakaua is elected king on February 12 by the legislature. After the election, rioting takes place at the courthouse, led by disappointed supporters of the dowager Queen Emma.
  • King Kalākaua and his party depart for San Francisco aboard the steamer Benicia on November 17 for a goodwill tour of the United States.
1875
  • A reciprocity treaty is signed on January 30, allowing sugar and other products to enter the United States without customs duties.
  • Princess Victoria Ka‘iulani is born October 16. She is the daughter of A.S. Cleghorn and Princess Miriam Likelike.
1876
  • The U.S. Senate ratifies the Reciprocity Treaty on August 15, allowing sugar and other products to enter the United States from Hawai‘i without customs duties..
1877
  • Prince Leleiohoku, heir to the throne, dies on April 19. Princess Lili‘uokalani is proclaimed heir.
  • Kapi‘olani Park opens June 11.
  • C.H. Dickey establishes the first commercial telegraph system in Hawai‘i, connecting two of his stores on Maui, September 1.
1878
  • A charter is granted to C.H. Dickey and C.H. Wallace for the Hawaiian Telegraph Company January 12.
  • Portuguese contract laborers arrive from the Medeira Islands on September 30.
1879
  • The first artesian wells are drilled July 1 by James Campbell on the ‘Ewa plain, providing irrigation for fields.
  • The Kahului-Wailuku Railroad, running from Kahului to Pā‘ia, opens on July 20. This is the first common rail carrier in Hawai‘i.
  • The cornerstone of ‘Iolani Palace is laid under Masonic auspices on December 31.
1880
  • An eruption of Mauna Loa in November threatens Hilo. Princess Ruth Keelikolani asks the gods to spare the town and the lava flow stops.
  • The Hawaiian Bell Telephone Company is incorporated December 30.
1882
  • The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, a weekly newspaper, becomes a daily May 1.
  • The construction of ‘Iolani Palace, at a cost of $350,000, is completed December 27.
1883
  • King Kalakaua and his queen, Kapiolani, hold a coronation ceremony in front of ‘Iolani Palace to mark the ninth year of his reign.
  • The statue of Kamehameha I is unveiled on February 14 in front of Ali‘iolani Hale.
  • Princess Ruth Ke‘elikolani dies May 24 at the age of fifty-seven. She was a great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I.
  • Mother Marianne and six sisters of St. Francis arrive in Hawai‘i November 8 to care for those afflicted with Hansen‘s disease.
1884
  • Smooth Cayenne pineapple plants are introduced from Madeira June 13.
1885
  • Dowager Queen Emma dies April 25 at age forty-nine.
1886
  • ‘Iolani Palace Square is illuminated by electric lights July 21. Two years later, electric street lighting replaces gas lamps in Honolulu.
1887
  • King Kalākaua is forced by the Hawaiian League, a group favoring a more liberalized constitution, to sign the "bayonet constitution" on July 6.
1888
  • Hawaiian Tramways, Ltd., starts a mule-car service in Honolulu December 28. It is taken over in November 1900 by the Honolulu Rapid Transit and Land Company.
1889
  • The yacht Casco arrives January 24 with Robert Louis Stevenson and family aboard.
  • Robert Wilcox leads a brief and unsuccessful revolt against the Reform Government on July 30. Seven rebels are killed and a dozen more wounded.
  • Father Damien dies of leprosy on April 15.
  • Oahu Railway and Land’s first train runs September 4.
1890
  • King Kalakaua departs on the U.S.S. Charleston for San Francisco on November 25.
1891
  • King Kalakaua dies in San Francisco on January 20, and his body is brought back to Hawai‘i aboard the U.S.S. Charleston.
  • Lili‘uokalani is proclaimed queen on January 29.
1892
  • The Hawaiian Historical Society holds its first official meeting January 11. Charles R. Bishop is chosen as the Society’s first president.
1893
  • Queen Lili‘uokalani attempts on January 14 to proclaim a new constitution, restoring to the throne powers that were deleted in the constitution of 1887.
  • Queen Lili‘uokalani is deposed on January 17; a provisional government is established under Sanford B. Dole.
1894
  • The Republic of Hawai‘i is established on July 3. Sanford B. Dole becomes president of the republic.
1895
  • Robert Wilcox fails in his attempt to lead a revolt to restore the monarchy.
  • Queen Lili‘uokalani abdicates the throne on January 24 and pledges allegiance to the republic.
1897
  • Silent movies are shown for the first time in Hawai‘i at the Hawaiian Opera House on February 5. Seven brief scenes are screened using Edison's Veriscope.
1898
  • Spain declares war on the United States on April 24, and the U.S. Congress responds in kind on April 25. Troops are temporarily stationed at Camp McKinley near Diamond Head.
  • The first motion picture filmed in Hawai‘i is shot May 10 by Edison photographers on their way through Honolulu.
  • President McKinley signs a joint resolution of Congress on July 7 that annexes Hawai‘i to the United States.
  • Hawai‘i's sovereignty is transferred to the United States on August 12.
1899
  • The first cars appear on the streets of Honolulu October 8 when Henry P. Baldwin and Edward D. Tenney take possession of their new automobiles.
  • An epidemic of bubonic plague breaks out in Honolulu with the first death on December 12.
1900
  • On January 20 a fire intended to rid Chinatown of the bubonic plague flames out of control and destroys 38 acres of buildings.
  • President McKinley signs the Organic Act on April 30, making Hawai‘i a territory of the United States.
  • Sanford B. Dole is inaugurated as the first governor of the Territory of Hawai‘i on June 14.
1901
  • The Territory of Hawai‘i's first legislature is convened February 20 in Honolulu.
1902
  • The cable ship Silverton links the telegraph cable from San Francisco to Sans Souci beach at Waikīkī December 28.
1903
  • The first message to be telegraphed from Hawai‘i to the U.S. mainland is sent January 1.
  • The Gaelic arrives at midnight January 12 with the first group of Koreans to arrive to work on the sugar plantations.
  • The Order of Kamehameha is founded May 13.
  • George R. Carter, secretary of the territory, is appointed the territory's second governor on November 23.
1907
  • Fort Shafter, headquarters for the army, becomes the first permanent military post in the territory.
  • The College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (today the University of Hawai‘i) begins with twelve faculty members and five students.
1908
  • Pearl Harbor construction begins.
1909
  • Municipal government of the City and County of Honolulu is inaugurated with J. J. Fern as its first mayor.
  • Schofield Barracks is established.
1910
  • The first airplance flight in Hawai‘i is made December 31 by J.C. “Bud” Mars.
1911
  • The first airplance crash in Hawai‘i occurs June 10 when pilot Clarence H. Walker hits a hala tree while landing at Hilo.
1912
  • Duke Kahanamoku wins a gold medal in the 100-meter swim at the Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden.
1913
  • The Library of Hawai‘i, the first public library in Hawai‘i, opens in downtown Honolulu.
1915
  • The U.S. submarine Skate, with twenty-one crew members on board, explodes and sinks a mile off Honolulu Harbor March 25. This is the first major submarine disaster in U.S. naval history.
  • Talking pictures are shown for the first time in Hawai‘i at the Bijou in Honolulu on August 5.
1917
  • Former Queen Lili‘uokalani dies at Washington Place November 1, and a state funeral is held November 18.
1918
  • Major Harold M. Clark of the Fort Kamehameha Aero Squadron makes the first interisland flight March 15, flying from O‘ahu to Moloka‘i and back.
  • The Hawai‘i National Guard is mobilized on June 1 to protect the Islands after most members of the regular army are dispatched to France.
1919
  • The Pearl Harbor drydock is formally dedicated by U.S. Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels on August 21.
1921
  • Reclamation of Waikiki swamplands begins.
1922
  • Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole, last titular prince of the monarchy and a delegate to the U.S. Congress, dies at Waikiki on January 7.
  • Washington Place, former home of Queen Liliuokalani, opens as the official residence of Hawai‘i's governors.
1923
  • Hawaii's legislature passes a "Bill of Rights" addressed to the U.S. Congress. The bill asks for higher appropriations of federal funds on grounds that the territory, while not a state, is still an integral part of the country.
1924
  • The U.S. Congress passes Hawaii's "Bill of Rights."
  • Pablo Manlapit leads an eight-month strike of plantation workers on Kauai.
1926
  • Sanford B. Dole, first governor of the Republic and Territory of Hawai‘i, dies on June 9.
1927
  • The Royal Hawaiian Hotel, built at a cost of $4 million, opens February 1.
  • The first successful nonstop air flight from the mainland, Oakland to Hawai‘i (Wheeler Field), is flown June 28–29 by two U.S. Army officers in a tri-motored Fokker monoplane named "Bird of Paradise."
1934
  • Hawai‘i’s first recorded bank robbery takes place at the Pa‘ia Branch of Bank of Hawai‘i on February 3. The robbers get away with $976 but are apprehended a few hours later.
  • President Franklin D. Roosevelt arrives at Kailua-Kona July 25, the first U.S. president to visit Hawai‘i. On July 27, he visits Honolulu.
1935
  • Pan American Airways Clipper flies from Alameda, California, to Honolulu on April 16–17.
  • Shirley Temple arrives in Honolulu aboard the Lurline July 29. From dockside, she sings “On the Good Ship Lollipop.”
1936
  • The first traffic light in Honolulu, an overhead signal, is installed at the intersection of Nu‘uanu Avenue and Beretania Street February 19.
1941
  • Japanese planes attack the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7. The U.S.S. Arizona and other ships are sunk. More than 2,500 lives are lost.
  • Army Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short assumes control from Governor Joseph B. Poindexter and becomes military governor of Hawai‘i. He declares martial law.
1942
  • Admiral Chester Nimitz announces, June 5, the defeat of the Japanese fleet in the Battle of Midway.
1944
  • The Democratic National Convention endorses statehood for Hawai‘i on July 19.
  • Martial law in Hawai‘i, imposed at the beginning of World War II, is ended on October 24.
1946
  • Following a submarine earthquake in the Aleutian Islands, three tsunamis (large tidal waves) hit the windward shores of the Hawaiian Islands on April 1. Hilo suffers the worst damage, and 159 lives are lost.
1948
  • President Harry S. Truman endorses statehood for Hawai‘i during his report to Congress February 2.
1949
  • Jack Hall leads a six-month strike by the International Longshoreman's and Warehouseman's Union.
1950
  • In an effort to obtain statehood, a Hawai‘i Constitutional Convention convenes on April 4. The resulting constitution is later ratified by the voters.
  • The U.S. House Committee on Un-American Activities convenes April 19 in ‘Iolani Palace to conduct hearings on Communist influence in Hawai‘i's labor organizations.
1952
  • The first regular television programming in Hawai‘i begins December 1 on KGMB-TV.
1953
  • Jack Hall and six codefendents are convicted June 17 under the anti-Communist Smith Act.
1957
  • Color television is first seen in Hawai‘i when KHVH-TV broadcasts a program with color slides and movies on May 5.
  • Statehood for Alaska is approved by the U.S. Congress, but action on Hawai‘i's request is delayed.
  • The Pali tunnel is opened for one-way traffic.
1959
  • Alaska is officially proclaimed the Forty-ninth State on January 3. Statehood for Hawai‘i is approved by the U.S. Senate on March 11 and by the House on March 12. An act signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower designating Hawai‘i the fiftieth state becomes law on March 18.
  • The first general election after statehood takes place on July 28, and incumbent Territorial Governor William F. Quinn, a Republican, is selected to be Hawai‘i's first state governor.
  • August 21 Governor Quinn takes office. Later, the third Friday in August is designated Admission Day.
1960
  • The State Legislature convenes its first regular session on February 18 and adjourns May 2.
  • Tsunami waves hit the Big Island on May 23, and sixty-one lives are lost.
  • The fiftieth star is added to the U.S. flag on July 4.
1961
  • The Pali tunnels officially open to two-way traffic August 1.
1962
  • John A. Burns is elected the state's second governor in the November elections.
1963
  • Helene Hale is elected first woman chairman of a county (Hawai‘i).
1966
  • The first live television broadcast to and from the mainland takes place November 19. KHVH-TV televises the Michigan State–Notre Dame football game, and at halftime, scenes of Waikīkī are transmitted to the mainland.
1967
  • Hawai‘i attracts one million tourists in a single year.
1968
  • Neighbor Island counties elect their first mayors. Frank F. Fasi is elected mayor of Honolulu.
1969
  • The Civil Aeronautics Board awards seven airlines domestic routes from Hawai‘i to 35 cities on the mainland.
  • The first astronauts to visit the moon return to earth and are picked up at sea along with their Apollo 11 craft, Columbia 3, by the U.S.S. Hornet. The ship arrives at Pearl Harbor, July 26, from where the men are taken to Hickam Air Force Base and flown to the mainland.
1972
  • Hawai‘i attracts two million tourists.
1974
  • George Ariyoshi, the country's first governor of Japanese ancestry, is elected in November.
1976
  • Hokule‘a (“Star of Gladness”), a double-hulled sailing canoe sails from Hawai‘i on May 1 and reaches Tahiti on June 4. The voyage is meant to symbolize a cultural renaissance in the Hawaiian Islands and recalls ancient canoe contact between the two Polynesian groups.
1978
  • Hawai‘i celebrates the bicentennial of the arrival of Captain James Cook in the Hawaiian Islands in 1778.
  • Governor Ariyoshi wins reelection in November. Jean King is the state's first woman lieutenant governor.
1979
  • Hawai‘i attracts four million visitors during the year.
1980
  • The first quadruplets to survive infancy in Hawai‘i are born March 13 at Tripler Hospital.
1982
  • Eileen R. Anderson becomes the state's first woman mayor, defeating Frank F. Fasi in November for the office of mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.
  • Hurricane ‘Iwa strikes Kaua‘i on November 23, causing an estimated $234 million in damage.
1983
  • Kilauea volcano erupts at Napau crater January 3; fountaining stretches four miles.
1984
  • Frank Fasi elected mayor of Honolulu once again, defeating Eileen Anderson.
  • The 25th anniversary of statehood.
1985
  • The 100th anniversary of Japanese immigration to Hawai‘i.
1986
  • Astronaut Ellison Onizuka is killed in the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger.
  • John Waihee is elected governor, the first elected state governor of Hawaiian ancestry.
1988
  • Frank Fasi is reelected mayor of Honolulu.
1989
  • The 100th anniversary of the death of Father Damien.
1990
  • John Waihee is reelected governor.
  • Kalapana Mauna Kea Congregational Church in Puna is destroyed by lava from Kilauea volcano.
  • A statue of Duke Kahanamoku is erected at Kuhio Beach in Waikiki.
1991
  • Miss Hawai‘i Carolyn Sapp is chosen Miss America.
1992
  • Hurricane Iniki causes massive devastation on Kaua‘i; the most destructive hurricane in the recorded history of the state.
  • Dole Foods Co. closes down Lanai Plantation.
  • Voyaging canoe Hokule‘a returns from a 5,500-mile voyage, including a first-time voyage to Rarotonga.
  • The 100th anniversary of the founding of the Hawaiian Historical Society.
  • Frank Fasi elected to a fifth term as mayor of Honolulu.
1993
  • The 100th anniversary of the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
  • The Rev. Paul Sherry, president of the United Church of Christ of the United States, formally apologizes to Native Hawaiians for the church’s role in the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy.
  • The U.S. Senate apologizes to Hawaiians for the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893.
  • President Bill Clinton signs a Congressional Resolution acknowledging the illegality of the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in 1893.
  • The remains of Henry Opukaha‘ia, the first Hawaiian to convert to Christianity, are returned to Hawai‘i from Connecticut and reburied in Kahikolu Cemetery in Napoopoo.
  • A statue of Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox is unveiled in Wilcox Park in Downtown Honolulu.
1994
  • First regularly scheduled Hawaiian-language news broadcast presented on public radio.
  • The island of Kaho‘olawe is returned by the federal government to the state of Hawai‘i.
  • Hamakua Sugar Company closes.
  • Benjamin Cayetano elected governor.
  • Jeremy Harris elected mayor of Honolulu to complete the term of Frank Fasi, who resigned to run for governor.