John Henry Wise | |
|---|---|
 Senator Wise in 1920 | |
| Member of theTerritory of Hawaii Senate for the Third District | |
| In office 1919–1921 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1868-07-19)July 19, 1868 |
| Died | August 12, 1937(1937-08-12) (aged 69) |
| Resting place | Kawaiahaʻo Church |
| Nationality | Kingdom of Hawaii United States |
| Party | Republican Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Lois Kawai Edith McDowell |
| Children | 10 |
| Alma mater | Oberlin College |
| Occupation | businessman, politician, pastor, educator |
John Henry Wise (July 19, 1868 – August 12, 1937) was aNative Hawaiian politician, businessman, religious leader, and educator of Hawaii. In his youth, he became the first Native Hawaiian to play college football. While he attended theology school atOberlin College, Wise had played for theOberlin Yeomen football team. During his political career in theHawaii Territorial Legislature, he helped pass theHawaiian Homelands Act of 1921. In later life, he served as an instructor ofHawaiian language at theKamehameha Schools and theUniversity of Hawaii.
He was born July 19, 1868, atKapaʻau,Kohala, on the island ofHawaii. His parents were Julius A. Wise, a German settler fromHamburg, and Rebecca Nāwaʻa, aNative Hawaiian.[1][2] He was educated at theHilo Boarding School and became a part of the inaugural class of theKamehameha School for Boys where he played left field for the Kamehameha Nine baseball team.[1]
From 1890 to 1893, he attended theology school atOberlin College where he became the first Native Hawaiian to play college football, on the college'sfirst football team.[2][3][4] CoachJohn Heisman found him in searching for aguard.[5] He was considered the team's best lineman.[6] Wise also played atfullback, and scored atouchdown in the close loss toMichigan in 1892.[7] Noted for his immense strength, he was reportedly "able to run with three men on his back without noticing the extra weight".[8]
After graduating school, he returned home in June 1893. The monarchy under QueenLiliuokalani had beenoverthrown and a newProvisional Government (later theRepublic of Hawaii) had taken its place. The Hawaiian Evangelical Association which had funded Wise's continental education supported the anti-monarchists while Wise became a Royalist.[9] He worked for a time as pastor of Ka Makua Mau Loa Church.[10] In January 1895, he took part in the unsuccessfulcounter-revolution led byRobert William Wilcox against the Republic of Hawaii. Wise was arrested and tried formisprision of treason. On his February 5 trial, he pled guilty to the charges, refused to give evidence against other conspirators and was sentenced to three years in jail. Among the last group of political prisoners released, he was pardoned the following year by PresidentSanford B. Dole.[11][12][13]
After theannexation of Hawaii to United States, Wise became a founding member of theDemocratic Party of Hawaii and served as a delegate, with former Hawaiian royal PrinceDavid Kawānanakoa, to the1900 Democratic National Convention inKansas City, Missouri, in whichWilliam Jennings Bryan was nominated. He supported the Democrats because of the association of the party with PresidentGrover Cleveland who had sympathized with the Royalist cause in 1893.[14] Wise worked as aHawaiian language interpreter for the 1901 inauguralHawaii Territorial Legislature, established after theHawaiian Organic Act.[15]
Wise switched party lines, becoming a member of theRepublican Party of Hawaii in 1905, and attended the1912 Republican National Convention.[16] He served on the Hawaii Territorial Legislature as a clerk on the House of Representatives and the Hawaii Territorial Senate for multiple years. In 1919, he was elected and served a four-year term Senator from the Third District.[17][10][18]He joined PrinceJonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole, the Congressional delegate from Hawaii, in support of the passage of theHomelands Act of 1921. Despite Wise's and Kūhiō's wishes, the Act contained high blood-quantum requirements, and leased land instead of granting it fee-simple, creating a perpetual government institution.[2][16] In between his political career, he worked as a contractor on the island of Hawaii and helped translated Hawaiian legends for theBishop Museum.[19][15] In December 1923, PresidentCalvin Coolidge appointed Wise as director of prohibition enforcement during theprohibition era.[19][15]
He retired from politics in 1925 and briefly lived onMolokai, farmingtaro and raising pigs. In 1926, Wise began teachingHawaiian language at Kamehameha Schools and later at theUniversity of Hawaii, becoming the second professor of Hawaiian language afterFrederick William Beckley. He taught until 1934.[2][20] During this period, he and Kamehameha Schools president Frank Midkiff co-authored a Hawaiian language textbook,A First Course in Hawaiian Language.[15][21] He also helped revitalized Hawaiian culture through his membership in Hawaiian civic organizations such as theRoyal Order of Kamehameha I and the Hawaiian Civic Clubs, both which he helped Prince Kūhiō reorganize or founded, and the Hale O Nā Aliʻi O Hawaiʻi.[19][22]
On December 20, 1897,[23] he married Lois Kawai (1882–1919) at Waimea. They had ten children: Muriel (Lyons), Lois, Rebecca (Boozer), William, Ella (Harrison), Nani, John Henry Jr., Jonah Kuhio, Daniel, and Tepa.[19][15] In 1920, he married Edith McDowell, a newspaper correspondent he met in Washington, DC.[24]
He died on August 12, 1937, ofpneumonia, and was buried at theOahu Cemetery.[2][25] After his death, the University of Hawaii renamed the school's athletic field John Henry Wise Field in his honor.[26] The field was renamed to Bachman Lawn at a later date; it now is situated at the corner of Dole Street and University Avenue near an amphitheater.[4][27] In 2012, Ronald William, Jr. wroteTo Raise a Voice in Praise: The Revivalist Mission of John Henry Wise, 1889–1896 about the early periods of Wise's life.[28]
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