Famous People of Hawaii

Born in Honolulu, Hawai?i, to Japanese immigrant parents, Ariyoshi graduated in 1944 from McKinley High School. As World War II drew to a close, he served as an interpreter with the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Service in Japan. Upon returning stateside, he first attended the University of Hawai?i at M?noa, then transferred to Michigan State University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949. He then went on to receive his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School. • George Ariyoshi Books

Bingham is descended from Deacon Thomas Bingham who had come to the American colonies in 1650 and settled in Connecticut. He attended Middlebury College and the Andover Theological Seminary.  He broke off an engagement and found a new bride, Sybil Mosley, in order to become a missionary. On October 23, 1819 he was sent from Boston along with Asa and Lucy Goodale Thurston to lead a mission by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions.

Bingham and his wife arrived first on the Island of Hawaii in 1820 aboard the brig Thaddeus, and then sailed on to Honolulu. In 1823, Queen Ka?ahumanu and six high chiefs requested baptism. Soon after, the government banned prostitution and drunkenness, which resulted in the shipping industry and the foreign community resenting Bingham's spiritual impact. Bingham was involved in the creation of the spelling system for the Hawaiian Language and also translated some books of the Bible into Hawaiian. • Hiram Bingham Books

After sixteen years caring for the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of those in the leper colony, he eventually contracted and died of the disease, and is widely considered a "martyr of charity". He is the ninth person canonized by the Roman Catholic Church to have lived, worked, and died in what is now the United States.

In the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches, Damien is considered a saint, one who is holy and worthy of public veneration. In the Anglican communion, as well as other denominations of Christianity, Damien is considered the spiritual patron for Hansen's disease, HIV and AIDS patients, and outcasts • Father Damien Books

Dole pursued and advocated the westernization of Hawaiian society and culture. Dole participated in a revolution in 1887 in which local businessmen, sugar planters and politicians backed by the Honolulu Rifles forced adoption of the 1887 Constitution of the Kingdom of Hawaii written by Interior Minister Lorrin A. Thurston. It stripped voting rights from all Asians outright, and disenfranchised poor Native Hawaiians and other citizens by imposing income and wealth requirements for voting, thus effectively consolidating power with the elite Native Hawaiian, European and American subjects of the kingdom. • Sanford B. Dole Books

Born in Honolulu, he was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1997. Sometimes known as "El Sid", he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, and Houston Astros. His best years were with the Mets from 1984 to 1993 and he was an integral part of the 1986 World Series Championship team. Born in Honolulu, Hawai?i, Fernandez was proud of his roots and wore uniform number 50 in honor of Hawai?i being the 50th state. The theme song to Hawaii Five-O was often played before the start of each game he pitched at Shea Stadium. According to the Portuguese Heritage Foundation, Fernandez is believed to be of Portuguese descent.• Sid Fernandez Books

Born in Honolulu.born September 7, 1924) is an American politician who currently serves as the senior United States Senator from Hawaii. He has been a U.S. Senator since 1963 and, following the recent death of Ted Kennedy, is currently the second-most-senior member after fellow Democrat Robert Byrd. He is the third longest serving U.S Senator in history, after Robert Byrd and Strom Thurmond. He has continuously represented Hawaii in the U.S. Congress since it achieved statehood in 1959, serving as Hawaii's first U.S. Representative and later a U.S. Senator. Inouye was the first Japanese-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and later the first in the U.S. Senate. He is the third oldest U.S. Senator after Robert Byrd and Frank Lautenberg. He is also a recipient of the Medal of Honor. • Senator Daniel K. Inouye Books

Gerrit P. Judd was born April 23, 1803 in Paris, Oneida County, New York, the son of Elnathan Judd and his wife Betsey Hastings. He was educated as a physician at the medical college in Fairfield, New York. He married Laura Fish (1804–1872) on September 20, 1827 in Clinton, New York. He sailed to Hawaii (which were known as the "Sandwich Islands") in 1827, on the ship Parthian, the third company from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He was assigned to the mission at Honolulu, Hawaii on the island of Oahu, as a missionary physician, and continued in that employment fifteen years • Gerrit P. Judd Books

Ka?ahumanu was born in a cave near H?na on the Hawaiian Island of Maui between 1768 and 1773. Her parents were Ke?eaumoku Papaiahiahi, a fugitive ali?i or noble from the Big Island, and Namahana'i'Kaleleokalani, the wife of her half-brother the late king of Maui, Kamehameha Nui. From her mother she was member of the noble house of Maui being relative of many of the kings of Maui. From her father, she was the third cousin of Kamehameha I, both sharing the common ancestoress, Princess Kalanikauleleiwi. Her name translates as the feathered mantle.

Her siblings include Governor John Adams Kuakini of Hawaii, Queen Kalakua Kaheiheimalie, Governor George Cox Kahekili Ke'eaumoku II of Maui, Lydia Namahana Pi'ia. Her father became an advisor and friend to Kamehameha of Hawai?i, eventually becoming royal governor of Maui. He arranged for Ka?ahumanu to marry him when she was thirteen. Kamehameha had numerous wives but Ka?ahumanu would become his favorite. It was she who encouraged her husband's war of unification of Hawai?i. • Kaahumanu Books

He was born Lot Kapuaiwa December 11, 1830 to Elisabeta K?nau and her husband Mataio Kekuanao?a. Kapuaiwa means mysterious kapu or sacred one protected by supernatural powers. His siblings include David Kamehameha, Moses Kekuaiwa, Alexander Liholiho, and Victoria Kamamalu. He was hanaied (adopted) by the Princess Nahienaena but she died in 1836 and so, High Chief Ulumaheihei Hoapili and Queen Kalakua Kaheiheimalie his grandmother. He was educated at the Royal School like his cousins and siblings. He was betrothed to Bernice Pauahi at birth but fell deeply in love with his cousin, Abigail Maheha at the Royal School. He was only 5 years old when he was caught sleeping with Abigail She became pregnant with his child when he was 15 and she 13. On February 4, 1846 when she was 6 months pregnant, she was removed from the Royal School, separated from Lot • Kamehameha v Books

He was also one of the founders of the Catholic Summer School of America. He and his wife were received into the Roman Catholic Church in New York in March 1891. After his death his widow, as Mother M. Alphonsa, organized a community of Dominican tertiaries, The Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer Patients, who took charge of two cancer hospitals at New York. Among his published works are: Rose and Rose-tree (1875), poems; A Study of Hawthorne (1876); Afterglow (1876), a novel; Spanish Vistas (1883), a work on travel; Newport (1884), a novel; Dreams and Days (1892), poems; A Story of Courage (1894), centenary history of the Visitation Convent, Georgetown, D.C. He edited (1883) a complete, and the standard, edition of Hawthorne's works, and adapted The Scarlet Letter for Walter Damrosch's opera of that title, which was produced at New York in 1896. • George Parsons Lathrop Books

Lili?uokalani was born on 2 September 1838 to High Chieftess Analea Keohokalole and High Chief Caesar Kaluaiku Kapa?akea. In accordance with Hawaiian tradition, she was adopted at birth by Abner P?k? and his wife Laura K?nia. Liliuokalani’s childhood years were spent studying and playing with her foster sister Bernice Pauahi, the P?k?s' natural daughter.

The Premier Elizabeth K?na?u had developed an eye infection at the time of Lili?u's birth. She gave her the names Lili?u (smarting), Loloku (tearful), Walania (a burning pain), and Kamaka?eha (sore eyes), translated as Lydia Smarting Tearful Anguish the Sore Eyes. Lili?u's brother changed it when he named her Crown Princess, calling her Lili?uokalani, "the smarting of the royal ones". • Liliuokalani Books

Bette reveals the cruel relationships and family tragedies throughout her life. Bette examines the continuing appeal and loyalty between her and a vast audience of gay men. And, finally, it describes the great joy she's found in her unlikely marriage to Martin von Haselberg, A German commodity broker and performance artist. • Bette Midler Books • Bette Midler Movies • Bette Midler Discography

Ellison Onizuka was the oldest son and second youngest child of the late Masamitsu and Mitsue Onizuka. He had two older sisters, Shirley and Norma, and a younger brother, Claude. Claude became the family spokesman when Ellison attained fame as an astronaut and continued after the Challenger accident. Growing up, Ellison was an active participant in 4-H and the Boy Scouts, where he reached the level of Eagle Scout.

He graduated from Konawaena High School in Kealakekua in 1964. He received a Bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering in June 1969, and a Master's in that field in December of the same year, from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He participated in Air Force ROTC during his time there and is an alumnus of Triangle Fraternity. • Ellison Onizuka Books

A pioneer of sovereignty during the "Hawaiian Renaissance" of the 1970s, Prejean was one of the first voices to advocate for Kanaka Maoli (native Hawaiian) independence at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland . He was involved in the formation of the movement to stop the bombing of the island of Kaho?olawe by the U.S. Navy; this was an issue which catalyzed the formation of the modern "Hawaiian Movement".

Prejean was known for his music and "stand-up" comedy as well as for his unrelenting criticism of the U.S. military presence in Hawai?i. It was Kawaipuna Prejean who originally proposed the convening of the 1993 Kanaka Maoli Tribunal, and other historical actions which were carried out after his death.

Kawaipuna Prejean died on his 49th birthday while fighting to stop the construction of Interstate H-3 , which destroyed many ancient Hawaiian sites and substantially impacted native species along its path on the island of O?ahu, including several probable extinctions • Kawaipuna Prejean Books

Before Sakata had secured the role of Oddjob, another former wrestler, British actor Milton Reid, had auditioned for the role In 1964 Reid challenged Sakata to a wrestling contest and whoever was the winner would be the deciding factor for who would get the role. But since Reid had been in Dr. No and his character killed off, the producers decided to go with Sakata and the wrestling match didn't take place. •  no books • Harold Sakata Movies

Spreckels was born in Lamstedt, Hanover, now a state of Germany. In 1846, he left his homeland to start a new life in the United States. In 1852 he married his childhood sweetheart, Anna Christina Mangels (1829-1910), who had immigrated to New York City with her brother three years earlier. They had thirteen children, five of whom lived to maturity: John Diedrich (1853-1926), Adolph Bernard (1857-1924), Claus August (1858-1946), Rudolph (1872-1958) and daughter, Emma C. (Spreckels) Watson Ferris Hutton.

The family first settled in South Carolina, where Spreckels opened a grocery store business. Within a short time they moved to New York City, then in 1856 relocated to San Francisco, where Spreckels began a brewery and made a fortune. Spreckels used some of his wealth to purchase vast tracts of land in California and Hawai'i to grow sugar beets and sugarcane. Spreckels entered the sugar business in the mid 1860s and came to dominate the Hawaiian sugar trade on the West Coast • Claus Spreckels Books

Stroud was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he grew up, the son of comedian and vaudevillien Clarence Stroud (of the Stroud Twins), and singer Ann Livermore (née McCormack), who toured the world with Frank Sinatra. Stroud's mother and stepfather owned and operated the popular "Embers Steak House" and nightclub where Ann performed nightly.

Stroud was surfing at Waikiki when he was discovered by actor Troy Donahue who was filming ABC's Hawaiian Eye and needed a stunt double for his surfing scenes. Don, at 18, 6' 2" and 175 pounds, stepped up and was hired on the spot. He loved the gig so much, he decided to go to Hollywood to give acting a try. Upon arriving in L. A., he landed a variety of jobs, including parking cars, bouncer and then manager of the world famous "Whiskey A Go-Go" nightclub on the Sunset Strip, where such greats as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison of the "Doors" appeared. It was at the "Whiskey" that actor Sidney Poitier turned Don on to his acting career. Stroud went on to become one of Hollywood's great heavies and character actors. Stroud co-starred with Clint Eastwood in two films, Coogan's Bluff in 1968 and Joe Kidd in 1972. He also appeared in several episodes of CBS's Hawaii Five-0 and in the Barry Sullivan NBC western series The Road West. • Don Stroud Books • Don Stroud Movies

He made many contributions to studies of predator and prey interaction and foraging behavior in mammals, and the energetics of thermo-regulation, hibernation, and migration in bats. He founded Bat Conservation International (1982) in Austin, Texas to "promote a positive image of bats and encourage their preservation."

Tuttle has been a prominent photographer of bats, and most of the photographs of bats people see in newspaper articles, books, and other sources were taken by him • Merlin Tuttle Books

One of the tallest and heaviest wrestlers ever, Akebono's rivalry with the young Japanese hopes, Takanohana and Wakanohana, was a big factor in the increased popularity of sumo at tournament venues and on TV in the early 1990s. During his eight years at the yokozuna rank, Akebono won a further eight tournament championships, for a career total of eleven, and was a runner-up on thirteen other occasions, despite suffering several serious injury problems. Although his rival yokozuna Takanohana won more tournaments in this period, their individual head-to-heads remained very close. Akebono became a Japanese citizen in 1996 and after retiring in 2001, he worked as a coach at Azumazeki stable before leaving the Sumo Association in 2003. After an unsuccessful period as a K-1 fighter, he is now a freelance professional wrestler, and is one half of the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Champions with Ryota Hama, at the All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. • Chad Rowan Yokozuna Books