History of Hawaii

These lovely islands were discovered by the Polynesians, who gave them the name Hawaii. When Captain Cook discovered Hawaii, he renamed them The Sandwich Islands. This information was culled from From Mauka to Makai. I have also added some dates of my own.

300 - 750 A.D.: Polynesians arrive by outrigger canoe from Tahiti
1778: British explorer Captain James Cook discovers the Hawaiian Islands and names them Sandwich Islands after Britian's Earl of Sandwich.
1779: Captain Cook is killed in a Big Island dispute at Kealakekua Bay, near Kona.
1789: The first Chinese arrive after jumping off a trading ship.
1810: King Kamehameha the Great unites all the Hawaiian islands into one kingdom.
1813: The first pineapple plants are introduced from Spain.
1816: First Hawaiian flag is sewn.
1817: Coffee is first planted.
1819: King Kamehameha the Great dies. Prince Liholiho ascends the throne as Kamehameha II (1819-1824). He also abandons the ancient taboo of eating with women.
1820: First American Protestant missonaries arrive aboard the brig Thaddeus from New England.
1825 - 1854: The reign of King Kamehameha III.
1840: The first Hawaii constitution of the kingdom was established.
1848: The Great Mahele is signed by King Kamehameha III which allows commoners and haoles to own land outright or in "fee simple," a concept that continues today.
1850: On August 31, King Kamehameha III declares Honolulu a city.
1874 - 1891: The reign of King David Kalakaua.
1882: America's only royal residence, Iolani Palace is built on Oahu.
1883: Mutual Telephone Company was started in Hawaii. The name was later changed to Hawaiian Telephone and then changed again to GTE Hawaiian Tel.
1885: The first contract laborers from Japan arrive to work on the sugar cane plantations.
1892: Macadamia nut trees are first planted.
1893: Queen Liliuokalani surrenders the kingdom to the United States under protest.
1895: Queen Liliuokalani abdicates her throne.
1898: Hawaii is annexed to the United States.
1900: Hawaii becomes a United States territory. The Great Chinatown fire leaves 7000 people homeless in Honolulu.
1922: Prince Jonah Kalanianaole Kuhio dies. He was the last powerful member of the royal Hawaiian family.
1927: First non-stop air flight from the mainland to Honolulu.
1934: President Franklin Deleno Roosevelt arrives July 26 on the cruiser Houston. He is the first United States president to visit Hawaii.
1935: Pan American Airways "China Clipper" inaugurates air mail service to Hawaii and the Pacific.
1941: December 7th, Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. The U.S. enters World War II. Martial law is imposed in Hawaii until October 24, 1944.
1946: A killer "tsunami" (tidal wave) hits Hilo on the island of Hawaii.
1947: I am born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on September 19th.
1948: A record 41,964 persons visit Hawaii. Miss Yun Tau Zane wins the first Miss Hawaii crown.
1950: My step-father moves the family to Hawaii.
1952: Hawaii's first television station begins broadcasting.
1953: Waikiki Beach sees its first bikinis.
1953: January 1st, I begin spending a great deal of time at Waikiki Beach.
1959: Hawaii becomes the 50th state. Ala Moana Shopping Center is built. The first jet arrives. The age of tourism begins.
1965: I graduate from Leilehua High School in the little town of Wahiawa on the island of Oahu.
1966: Hawaii receives its first live television program from the mainland, Notre Dame vs. Michigan State in football.
1969: Jack ("Book 'em Danno") Lord begins "Hawaii Five-O" television series.
1974 - 1987: The first Asian-American governor (George Ariyoshi) is elected.
1976: "Hokule'a" a Hawaiian double-hulled canoe, reenacts Polynesian discovery voyage of Hawaii.
1980: Tom Selleck begins "Magnum P.I." television series.
1983: Kilauea volcano erupts on the Big Island. It is still erupting today.
1986: The Concorde jet lands in Honolulu.
1987: John Waihee, the first governor of Hawaiian descent is elected.
1989: The Moana Hotel, built in 1901, reopens fully restored as a National Historical landmark.
1991: Miss Hawaii, Carolyn Sapp, becomes the state's first Miss America.
1992: Hurricane Iniki ravages the island of Kauai and the western shores of the island of Oahu.
1994: Ben Cayetano becomes the first governor of Philippine descent ever elected in the United States.
1995: The last sugar plantation on the Big Island (the island of Hawaii) closes.
Near Future: You arrive at Honolulu International Airport for a visit.

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