JANUARY 13, 1842

NATIVE HAWAIIAN NATIONALIST LEADER JOSEPH NĀWAHĪ BORN

A writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, newspaper editor, and artist, Nāwahī was a Hawaiian patriot and Renaissance man.  Born in Puna, Hawai‘i, in 1842, he was an outstanding pupil at both the Hilo Boarding School, Lahainaluna, Maui, and the Royal School in Honolulu.  Elected to the legislature in 1872, he represented Hilo for nine terms.  A trusted advisor of Lili‘uokalani during the last months of the monarchy, Nāwahī played a leading role in Hawaiian nationalist politics.  He and his wife, Emma, helped to found the Hui Aloha ‘Āina political party and its newspaper Ke Aloha Aina, as they worked to stop annexation, and to restore Hawaii’s independence as a nation.  His editorials and speeches are some of the most passionate and articulate expressions of faith in the Hawaiian people.  Imprisoned for acts deemed “treasonous” to the government that had overthrown the monarchy in 1893, his time in jail seriously affected his health and he died on September 14, 1896, in San Francisco, California.

Source:  “Joseph Nawahi,” Center for Biographical Research.  Retrieved 6/5/2019, http://blog.hawaii.edu/cbrhawaii/publications-productions/dvds/nawahi/
Photo:  Unknown photographer, circa 1890.  Hawaii State Archives, http://www.donch.com/lulhlatyrs2.htm.  Public domain.  Public Domain in U.S.:  Pre 1/1/1925.  Public Domain elsewhere where copyright term is author’s life plus 70 years or less.