Abraham Kahikina Akaka was an American clergyman. For 27 years,Rev. Akaka was Kahu (shepherd) of Kawaiahaʻo Church in Honolulu,Hawaii. His mother was of Hawaiian ancestry,and his father was of Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry. He delivered his messages in both the Hawaiian and English languages.
Richard Armstrong was a Presbyterian missionary from Pennsylvania who arrived in Hawaii in 1832. Along with his wife Clarissa,he served in mission fields of the Marquesas Islands and in the Kingdom of Hawaii. He established several churches and schools,and was Kahu (shepherd) of Kawaiahaʻo Church after the departure of Hiram Bingham I. Kamehameha III appointed him Minister of Public Instruction,and his accomplishments established an educational system that earned him the nickname "The father of American education in Hawaii".
Nancy Ellen Quinn was an American public figure,former First Lady of Hawaii,and a prominent figure during Hawaii's transition to statehood. Quinn,the wife of Governor William F. Quinn,served as the last First Lady of the Territory of Hawaii from 1957 until 1959. She then served as the first First Lady of the new U.S. state of Hawaii from 1959 to 1962. According to Time Magazine,Nancy Quinn was the first person in the Territory of Hawaii to receive news that the bill granting Hawaiian statehood had been signed by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1959.
Beatrice Majors Van Vleet Burns was the First Lady of Hawaii for three terms. Born in Oregon and raised in numerous states,she became a registered nurse,joined the United States Army Nurse Corps,and moved to Hawaii. She met Hawaii's future governor John A. Burns during a picnic at Hanauma Bay,when he was a college student. Together they had four children,one of whom was born premature and died when she was struck by poliomyelitis. She never fully recovered from her paralysis,but lived a full life as a wife and mother. While First Lady of Hawaii,she restored the governor's residence of Washington Place.
Jean Hayashi Ariyoshi was the First Lady of Hawaii for 12 years. Among her accomplishments were the reclamation of missing artifacts from the governor's mansion Washington Place,cataloguing the contents,and opening the house to docent-led tours. She promoted "A Million Trees of Aloha" reforestation of Hawaii that resulted in 1,138,000 trees being planted.
Vicky Tiu Cayetano is an American businesswoman and politician who was the first lady of Hawaii from 1997 to 2002. She and Governor Ben Cayetano were married on May 5,1997,in Washington Place. During her tenure,she was instrumental in the construction of a new governor's residence building and turning Washington Place into a museum. She was a Democratic candidate in the 2022 Hawaii gubernatorial election.
The first lady or first gentleman of Hawaii is the spouse of the governor of Hawaii,an unpaid ceremonial position. Territorial spouses carved out their roles in varied ways,from traditional wives who raised the children and supported their husbands,to philanthropists and society hostesses. Perhaps the most personal insight into any of the spouses came from territorial governor Sanford B. Dole. Three years after the death of Anna Prentice Cate Dole,he published a small book,"for those who loved and still love Anna—my dear wife" detailing their courtship and marriage,her love of poetry,and the admiration the first governor of the Territory of Hawaii had for his wife.
Helen Strong Carter (1866–1945) was First Lady of the Territory of Hawaii from 1903 to 1907. Her philanthropic activities included the establishment of the Strong-Carter Dental Clinic at Palama Settlement in Hawaii,and the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester,New York.
Mary Emma Dillingham Frear (1870-1951) was First Lady of the Territory of Hawaii from 1907 to 1913,and was a regent of the University of Hawaii for two decades. The granddaughter of missionaries,she was the first Hawaii-born wife of a governor of Hawaii.
The spouse of the mayor of Honolulu is an unpaid ceremonial position. Those who have filled the position have been a reflection of the history of the islands. Several were of Hawaiian ancestry. Emma Fern was a Hawaiian chanter and dancer. Kini Kapahu Wilson was not only a proponent of women's voting suffrage,but also found fame as a hula dancer who performed for heads of state around the world.
Lucy Puniwai Thurston Blaisdell was the First Lady of Honolulu 1955–1969. She was by profession a teacher,who had a 36-year career in both Hawaii and New York.
Sargent Hiikua Kahanamoku was a Native Hawaiian aquatic athlete and public relations spokesperson for Standard Oil Company. Sculptor Malvina Hoffman used him as her model for part of The Races of Mankind exhibit at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Sargent was the younger brother of Duke Kahanamoku.
Anna Kuulei Furtado Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian teacher who became an elected member of the Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives from the Fourth District,and after Hawaii was admitted to statehood,she served in the Hawaii Senate.
Mabel Leilani Smyth was a nursing administrator and the first Director of the Public Nursing Service for the Territory of Hawaii. She was of Hawaiian and Irish-English ancestry. Palama Settlement in Kalihi,where she had been the first head nurse of the program,eventually came under her authority at the Public Nursing Service. The Mabel Smyth Memorial Building in Honolulu,listed on the National Register of Historic Places,was erected in her honor.
Ethel Moseley Damon was a teacher,writer and historian who served with the Red Cross in Europe during World War I,and was decorated by Elisabeth of Bavaria,Queen of Belgium and by the Mayor of Le Havre.
Alice Lillian Rosehill Kahokuoluna was a Congregational minister of Native Hawaiian ancestry. In her time and place,she was the first woman ordained by the Hawaiian Evangelical Association,and the only woman Christian minister in the Territory of Hawaii. Her pastorate was primarily on the Islands of Maui and Molokai,where she helped restore the Siloama Church. Her childhood and young adult church life had been at Kawaiahaʻo Church in Honolulu,and the board of directors of that church later offered her the position of Kahu (pastor).
Women's Air Raid Defense (WARD) was a World War II civilian organization that worked with the military to provide air defense for Hawaii. It formed in December 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Several days after the attack,Una Walker awoke to an urgent phone call at 4:00 a.m. from 51-year-old Army Air Corps Brig. Gen. Howard C. Davidson,who commanded a wing at Wheeler Field. He asked her to assemble “a list of twenty bright,reliable women to be the nucleus of a secretive Army job.”Una immediately awoke her husband Sandy with whom she compiled a list for General Davidson,which formed the initial roster of the WARD in Hawai`i,based at Fort Shafter. Davidson and Una met the recruits at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki the day after Nimitz’s arrival,Christmas 1941. Davidson explained that the “women were needed to relieve men ordered to forward combat areas and the duties and demands that the secret work entailed.”WARD was the only civilian organization employed by the military for the purpose to replace men in active duty. It was disbanded after the end of WWII.
William Kamau was an American clergyman,and the second Kahu (shepherd) of Hawaiian ancestry at Kawaiahaʻo Church in Honolulu,Hawaii.
Danny "Kaniela" Kaleikini was an American singer,musical artist,and entertainer. Best known for his long-term residency at the Kahala Hilton in Hawaii,where he performed for 28 years,Kaleikini is often called "The Ambassador of Aloha". During his career of more than 50 years in show business,he was the opening act for Paul Anka at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas,and performed alongside Sammy Davis Jr.,Wayne Newton,Dolly Parton,Phyllis McGuire,and Don Ho. A baritone who sang Hawaiian songs and played the nose flute,Kaleikini gained international recognition for promoting Hawaiian music,language,and culture.
Sister Maureen Keleher was an American hospital administrator,hospice advocate,and Catholic nun. She served as chief executive officer of St. Francis Medical Center in Honolulu,Hawaii,and led the organization from 1953 to 1988. An early advocate of the hospice movement in Hawaii,Sister Keleher established St. Francis Hospice,the first hospice in the state,in 1978. In 1988,St. Francis opened the first freestanding hospice facility in the state,the Sister Maureen Keleher Center,which was named after her. She also served as regional administrator of the St. Francis Order of Nuns.
