Polynesians arrive by outrigger canoe from Tahiti
|
British explorer Captain James Cook discovers the Hawaiian Islands and names them
Sandwich Islands after Britain's Earl of Sandwich.
|
Captain Cook is killed in a Big Island dispute at Kealakekua Bay, near Kona.
|
The first Chinese arrive after jumping off a trading ship.
|
King Kamehameha the Great unites all the Hawaiian Islands into one kingdom. [View
Photo]
|
The first pineapple plants are introduced from Spain.
|
First Hawaiian flag is sewn.
|
Coffee is first planted.
|
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. [View
Photo]
|
First American Protestant missionaries arrive aboard the brig Thaddeus from New England.
|
The reign of King Kamehameha III.
|
The first Hawaii constitution of the kingdom was established.
|
The Great Mahele is signed by King Kamehameha III which allows commoners to own land
outright or in "fee simple," a concept that continues today.
|
On August 31, King Kamehameha III declares Honolulu a city.
|
The reign of King David Kalakaua.
|
America's only royal residence, Iolani Palace is built on Oahu. [View
Photo]
|
Mutual Telephone Company was started in Hawaii. The name was later changed to Hawaiian
Telephone and then changed again to GTE Hawaiian Tel.
|
The first contract laborers from Japan arrive to work on the sugar cane plantations.
|
Macadamia nut trees are first planted.
|
Queen Liliuokalani surrenders the kingdom to the United States under protest.
|
Queen Liliuokalani abdicates her throne. [View
Photo]
|
|
Hawaii is annexed to the United States.
|
Hawaii becomes a United States territory. The Great Chinatown fire leaves 7000 people
homeless in Honolulu.
|
Prince Jonah Kalanianaole Kuhio dies. He was the last powerful member of the royal
Hawaiian family. [View
Photo]
|
First non-stop air flight from the mainland to Honolulu.
|
President Franklin Roosevelt arrives July 26 on the cruiser Houston. He is the first
United States president to visit Hawaii.
|
Pan American Airways "China Clipper" inaugurates air mail service to Hawaii and the
Pacific. [View
Photo]
|
December 7th, Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. The U.S. enters World War II. Martial law
is imposed in Hawaii until October 24, 1944. [View
Photo]
|
A killer "tsunami" (tidal wave) hits Hilo on the island of Hawaii.
|
A record 41,964 persons visit Hawaii. Miss Yun Tau Zane wins the first Miss Hawaii
crown. [View
Photo]
|
Hawaii's first television station begins broadcasting.
|
Waikiki Beach sees its first bikinis.
|
Hawaii becomes the 50th state. Ala Moana Shopping Center is built. The first jet arrives.
The age of tourism begins.
|
Hawaii receives its first live television program from the mainland, Notre Dame vs.
Michigan State in football.
|
Jack Lord begins "Hawaii Five-O" television series. [View
Photo]
|
The first Asian-American governor (George Ariyoshi) is elected.
|
"Hokule'a" a Hawaiian double-hulled canoe, reenacts Polynesian discovery voyage of
Hawaii.
|
Tom Selleck begins "Magnum P.I." television series. [View
Photo]
|
Kilauea volcano erupts on the Big Island. It is still erupting today.
[View
Photo]
|
The Concorde jet lands in Honolulu.
|
John Waihee, the first governor of Hawaiian descent is elected.
|
The Moana Hotel, built in 1901, reopens fully restored as a National Historical landmark. [View
Photo]
|
Miss Hawaii, Carolyn Sapp, becomes the state's first Miss America.
[View
Photo]
|
Hurricane Iniki ravages the island of Kauai and the western shores of the island of
Oahu.
|
Ben Cayetano becomes the first governor of Philippine descent ever elected in the
United States.
|
The last sugar plantation on the Big Island (the island of Hawaii) closes.
|