Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole Exhibition

Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole Exhibition

Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole as a young man

Ref No. PP-97-2-014

Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole was born in the lands of Kukuiʻula, Kōloa, district of Kona, island of Kaua‘i, Hawaiian Archipelago, on March 26, 1871 to David Kahalepouli Pi‘ikoi—first cousin to Mōʻī (King) Kalākaua—and Kamāli‘i wahine (Princess) Victoria Kūhiō Kinoiki Kekaulike II—granddaughter of the former ruler of Kauaʻi, Kaumualiʻi. In the year 1883, Mōʻī Kalākaua bestowed the title of Kamāli‘i kāne (Prince) upon the 11-year-old Jonah, including him among those in line for the throne. Less than a year later, the young Prince’s mother died. As his father had already passed when Kūhiō was only seven, the King’s wife, Mōʻī wahine (Queen) Kapiʻolani, took legal custody of Kūhiō, and his two brothers—Kamāli‘i kāne David Laʻamea Kawānanakoa and Kamāli‘i kāne Edward Abnel Keliʻiahonui.

Standing L to R: David Kawananakoa, Edward Abnel Keliiahonui Sitting: Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole

Ref No. PP-97-2-011

Kamāli‘i kāne Kūhiō received his initial formal education at the Royal School and Oʻahu College (later known as Punahou School). At 15, he and his royal brothers continued their education abroad at St. Matthew’s Military Academy in San Mateo, California, where, during a summer break in 1886, they introduced the sport of surfing to the west coast of the United States. The boys returned home after two years in America when Edward fell sick; he would die at ʻIolani Palace soon after returning home. Tragedy once again entered the life of the young Prince when, in January 1891, his adoptive father, the ruling Sovereign of Hawai‘i, died unexpectedly while abroad.

Prince Kuhio 1895 charged for Treason

Ref No. PP-97-1-032

After a January 1893 coup that saw a minority white oligarchy take power in the Islands, Kūhiō joined the vast majority of Kanaka ʻŌiwi and their supporters in opposition to the new government and its attempts to have the independent Hawaiian nation annexed to the United States. In January 1895, the resistance launched an attempt to return the Hawaiian monarchy to power. The rebellion failed, and the 24-year old Kūhiō, along with more than four hundred others, was imprisoned. A military tribunal convicted the Prince of “misprision of treason”—knowing of a plot to overthrow the government and failing to inform the authorities—and ordered that “Jonah Kalanianaole be imprisoned at hard labor for the term of one year…” and pay a fine of one thousand dollars. In 1898, as fighting in the Spanish American War turned towards the Philippines, the United States took possession of the Hawaiian Islands.

L to R: Chilingworth, Kuhio, Horner, Dillingham

Ref No. PP-97-2-013

In 1902, the Republican Party of Hawaiʻi chose Kūhiō as its candidate for territorial delegate to the House of Representatives and he was elected as Hawaiʻi’s second delegate to the US Congress; Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox was the first. Kūhiō served ten consecutive terms in the US Congress with his most significant accomplishment being the passing of the “Hawaiian Homelands” Bill in 1920. On July 9, 1921, President Warren G. Harding signed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act into law.

Prince Kuhio wearing ‘ahu and top hat

Ref No. PP-97-2-008

Another dedicated cause of Kamāli‘i kāne Kūhiō was the nurturing of Kanaka ʻŌiwi leadership and to that end, in 1903, he organized the re-formation of the Royal Order of Kamehameha, a civic organization founded by Mō‘ī Lota Kapuāiwa (King Kamehameha V) in 1865.

Kūhiō died of a heart attack at age 50 while at Pualeilani, the seaside home in Waikīkī given to him by his hānai mother Mōʻī wahine Kapiʻolani. After a State Funeral held at Kawaiahaʻo Church, Kūhiō was buried at Mauna Ala, the Royal Mausoleum in Nuʻuanu, Oʻahu. In 1949, the Territorial Legislature of Hawaiʻi passed Joint Resolution 57 creating “Kūhiō Day” as an official government holiday. On this 62nd annual Kūhiō Day—March 26, 2021—and 150th anniversary of his birth, the Public Archives of Hawaiʻi honors Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole.

The records in this digital exhibition contain links to the 1949 Joint Resolution establishing Kūhiō Day as a holiday, Kūhiō’s 1895 Court Martial, photographs, and Memorial Addresses held at the Hawaiʻi State Archives.

The photographs are from the Kalaniana‘ole and General Photograph Collections. The Joint Resolution and Court Martial papers are from the Government Records Collection. Kūhiō’s memorial addresses delivered in Congress are from the Paul Markham Kahn Collection.


Hōʻikeʻike Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana‘ole

Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole as a young man

Ref No. PP-97-2-014

Hānau ʻia ʻo Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole i ka ʻāina o Kukuiʻula, Kōloa, ka moku ʻo Kona, ma ka mokupuni ʻo Kauaʻi, kō Hawaiʻi Paeʻāina, ma Malaki 26, 1871 iā David Kahalepouli Piʻikoi—ka hānaunalike o ka Mōʻī Kalākaua- lāua ʻo Kamāliʻi wahine Victoria Kūhio Kinoiki Kekaulike II—ka moʻopuna o Kaumualiʻi he mōʻī no Kauaʻi ma mua. I ka makahiki 1883, hāʻawi ka Mōʻī Kalākaua i ke kūlana Kamāliʻi kāne iā Jonah he 11 ona makahiki oʻo, he kūlana māna kēia e komo i ka lālani noho aliʻi. Ma lalo iho o hoʻokahi makahiki ma hope mai, hala ka makuahine o ke Kamāliʻi kāne. Ua hala ʻē nō kona makuakāne ma ko Kūhiō piha ʻana he ʻehiku makahiki, ʻo ka ipo Mōʻī, Mōʻī wahine Kapiʻolani, kai hoʻokahu ma ke kānāwai iā Kūhiō, a me kona mau kaikuaʻana a ʻelua—Kamāliʻi kāne David Laʻamea Kawānanakoa lāua ʻo Kamāliʻi kāne Edward Abnel Keliʻiahonui.

Standing L to R: David Kawananakoa, Edward Abnel Keliiahonui Sitting: Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole

Ref No. PP-97-2-011

Hoʻomaka ke Kāmaliʻi kāne Kūhiō i kona aʻo kula ʻana ma ke Kula ‘o Royal a me Oʻahu College (i kapa hou ʻia ʻo Ke Kula ʻo Punahou). I kona piha 15 makahiki ʻana, ʻoiai ʻo ia me kona mau kaikuaʻana e hele kula ana i ka ʻāina ʻē ma ke Kula Koa ʻo Kana Mataio i San Mateo, Kaleponi, i laila, i ka hoʻomaha kau wela o 1886, hoʻolauna akula lākou i ka leʻaleʻa o ka heʻenalu ʻana i ke kapa kai komohana o ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa. Hoʻi hou mai nā pua ali’i i ka ʻāina kulāiwi ma hope o ʻelua makahiki ma ʻAmelika ‘oiai ua loaʻa ʻo Edward i ka ʻōmaʻimaʻi; hala ʻo ia ma ka Hale Aliʻi ʻo ʻIolani ma hope pono mai o ka hoʻina kulāiwi. Loʻohia hou ʻo Kūhiō ʻōpiopio i ka luʻuluʻu i ka makahiki 1891 i ka hala mahuʻi ʻole ʻia ʻana o ka Mōʻī Kalākaua, kona makuakāne hānai hoʻi, i ka ʻāina ʻē.

Prince Kuhio 1895 charged for Treason

Ref No. PP-97-1-032

Ma hope o ka hoʻokahuli ʻia ʻana o ke aupuni mōʻī i Ianuali 1893 e kekahi hapa ʻuʻuku haole a lilo ai iā lākou ke aupuni o Hawaiʻi nei, hui pū ʻo Kūhiō me ka hapa nui o nā Kānaka ʻŌiwi a me kō lākou mau hoa aloha ʻāina e kūʻēʻē ai i ke aupuni hou a me ko lākou hoʻāʻo e hoʻohui ʻāina iā Hawaiʻi kūʻokoʻa i ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa. I Ianuali 1895, hōʻeuʻeu ka poʻe aloha ʻāina e hoʻihoʻi ai ke kūʻokoʻa i Ke Aupuni Mōʻī Hawaiʻi. Pohō naʻe ke kipi kaua kūloko a hoʻopaʻa ʻia ʻo Kūhiō, i kona piha makahiki he 24, a pēlā pū ka lau kānaka. Hoʻāhewa ʻia e ka ʻaha hoʻokolokolo koa ke Kamāliʻi kāne no ka hewa “misprision of treason”—ka maopopo ʻana aku i ke kaua kūloko a me ka haʻi ʻole ʻana i nā luna aupuni—Wahi a lākou, e “hoʻopaʻahao ʻia ʻo Jonah Kalanianaole ma ka hana ʻoʻoleʻa no hoʻokahi makahiki piha…” a e ʻuku i ka ʻuku hoʻopaʻi o hoʻokahi kaukani kālā. I 1898 ma ke kaua ʻo Kepania kūʻē iā Amelika, no ka huli aku o ke kaua ʻana i ka ʻāina Pilipino ka makahiki i ʻaihue ai ʻo ʻAmelika Hui Pū ʻIa iā Hawaiʻi nei ma o ka hoʻohui ʻāina ʻana.

L to R: Chilingworth, Kuhio, Horner, Dillingham

Ref No. PP-97-2-013

I 1902, koho ʻia ʻo Kūhiō e ka ʻaoʻao Repubalika o Hawaiʻi i ka moho ʻelele panalāʻau na ka Hale o nā Lunamakaʻāinana a koho baloka ʻia ʻo ia i ka lua o nā ʻelele ma ka US Congress; ʻO Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox ka mua. Noho a kupa ʻo Kūhiō i kēlā hana no ʻumi noho ʻana, a ʻo kona hoʻokō panepoʻo ʻana ka hoʻoholo ʻia ʻana o ka Pila ʻĀina Hoʻokūʻonoʻono Hawaiʻi i ka makahiki 1920. I Iulai 9, 1921, ua kākau inoa ʻia e Pelekikena Warren G. Harding ke Kānāwai ʻĀina Hoʻokūʻonoʻono Hawaiʻi.

Prince Kuhio wearing ‘ahu and top hat

Ref No. PP-97-2-008

ʻO kekahi kuleana hanohano ʻo Kamāliʻi kāne Kūhiō ʻo ia hoʻi ka hānai ʻana o nā alakaʻi Kānaka ʻŌiwi a me ia ʻano, i 1903, kūkulu hou ʻo ia i ka Royal Order of Kamehameha, he ʻahahui kīwila na Mōʻī Lota Kapuāiwi (Kamehameha V) i kūkulu ma ka makahiki 1865.

Hala ʻo Kūhiō i ke kauhola i ka oʻo makahiki 50 ʻoiai ʻo ia ma Pualeilani, ka home kahakai i Waikīkī i hāʻawi ʻia iā ia e kona makuahine hānai ka Mōʻī wahine Kapiʻolani. Ma hope o ka Hoʻolewa Aupuni ma Ka Hale Pule ʻo Kawaiahaʻo, hoʻomoe ʻia ʻo Kūhiō ma Mauna Ala, ka Pā Ilina o Nā Aliʻi i Nuʻuanu, Oʻahu. I 1949, hoʻoholo ka ʻAhaʻōlelo Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi i ka ʻŌlelo Hoʻoholo Hui 57 e kūkulu ana i ka lā kūlaia aupuni ʻo “Lā Kūhiō”. Ma kēia hoʻina kūmakahiki 62 ʻo ka Lā Kūhiō—Malaki 26, 2021—a me ka hoʻina kūmakahiki 150 o kona lā hānau, hoʻohanohano aku ka Hale Akewika Lāhui o Hawaiʻi iā Kamāliʻi kāne Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole.

ʻO nā palapala ma kēia loulou hōʻikeʻike pūnaewele he pili nō i ka ʻŌlelo Hoʻoholo Hui o 1949 e kūkulu ʻana iā Lā Kūhiō he lā kūlaia, kō Kūhiō hoʻāhewa ʻia e ka 1895 ʻAha Hoʻokolokolo Koa, nā kiʻi, a me nā Haʻi ʻŌlelo Hoʻomanaʻo e mālama ʻia nei ma ia Hale Waihona Palapala Kahiko.

No loko kēia mau kiʻi o ka ʻOhiʻohina a Kalanianaʻole a me ka ʻOhiʻohina Kiʻi maʻa mau. ʻO ka Joint Resolution a me ka ʻAha Hoʻokolokolo Koa no loko mai ia o ka ʻOhiʻohina Palapala Aupuni. No loko mai kēia mau haʻi ōlelo hoʻomanaʻo i haʻi ʻia ma ka ʻAha ʻŌlelo Lāhui o ka ʻOhiʻohina a Paul Markham Kahn.


Kūhiō Exhibition Contents
Ref No. Item Description
MFL143-230 1949 Joint Resolution establishing Kūhiō Day as a holiday
House Joint Resolution 57, 1949 Legislature, Published, pages 1215-1222
263 vol 81 1949 Joint Resolution establishing Kūhiō Day as a holiday
House Joint Resolution 57, 1949 Legislature, Originals of Legislative Actions of the Governor, volume 81, pages 56-57
146-1-9, Case No. 175 1895 Court Martial
KAHN 7/198 Memorial Addresses Delivered in Congress
M86-17-400 Theodore Kelsey Collection, Papers Relating to Hawaiian Genealogy, Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole
PP-96-18 Royalty, Kalanianaole Collection
PP-96-19 Royalty, Kalanianaole Collection
PP-97-1 Royalty, Kalanianaole Collection
PP-97-2 Royalty, Kalanianaole, Prince Jonah Kūhiō
PP-112-4 Visitors, U.S. Congressmen, Through the 1920s

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