AUGUST 3, 1800

NATIVE HAWAIIAN POLITICIAN HISTORIAN JOHN PAPA ʻĪʻĪ BORN

John Papa ʻĪʻī, born at Waipi‘o, Oahu, came to Honolulu at age 10 and became an attendant of Kamehameha I and later companion & personal attendant to Liholiho who became King Kamehameha II. He studied reading and writing under the Reverend Hiram Bingham, eventually becoming Bingham’s assistant and a teacher at Bingham’s school. In 1840, John became kahu (a vice principal) at the Chiefs’ Children’s School and, by 1841, was general superintendent of O‘ahu schools. Kamehameha III, in 1842, appointed John to the new Treasury Board to create a system of account keeping. While on the Privy Council (1845-59), he was appointed to the Board of Land Commissioners. A House of Nobles member (1841-70), John represented that body in drafting the Constitution of 1852. He also served as a House of Representatives member (1855), Superior Court judge (1848), and Supreme Court Associate Justice (1852-64). John died May 2, 1870, in Honolulu.

Source:

Peter T. Young, “John Papa ʻĪʻī,” Images of Old Hawaiʻi, 8/2/2019.  Retrieved 10/10/2023, John Papa ʻĪʻī | Images of Old Hawaiʻi (imagesofoldhawaii.com).

Wikipedia

Photo:  Henry L. Chase (1831-1901), pre-1870. Public Domain.