Hiram Fong | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
鄺友良 | |||||||||||||||
.jpg) Fong in 1976 | |||||||||||||||
| United States Senator fromHawaii | |||||||||||||||
| In office August 21, 1959 – January 3, 1977 | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Seat established | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Spark Matsunaga | ||||||||||||||
| Speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives | |||||||||||||||
| In office 1948–1954 | |||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Manuel Paschoal | ||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Charles E. Kauhane | ||||||||||||||
| Member of theHawaii House of Representatives from the 5th district | |||||||||||||||
| In office 1938–1954 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||
| Born | Yau Leong Fong (1906-10-15)October 15, 1906 Honolulu,Territory of Hawaii, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Died | August 18, 2004(2004-08-18) (aged 97) Kahaluu, Hawaii, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Party | Republican | ||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||
| Children | 4; includingHiram Fong Jr. | ||||||||||||||
| Education | University of Hawaii, Manoa (BA) Harvard University (LLB) | ||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Businessman, lawyer, politician | ||||||||||||||
| Military service | |||||||||||||||
| Allegiance | United States | ||||||||||||||
| Branch/service |  United States Army | ||||||||||||||
| Years of service | 1942–1945 | ||||||||||||||
| Rank |  Major | ||||||||||||||
| Unit |  United States Army Air Forces• Seventh Air Force | ||||||||||||||
| Battles/wars | World War II | ||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 鄺友良 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 邝友良 | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Hiram Leong Fong (bornYau Leong Fong;[1] October 15, 1906 – August 18, 2004) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician fromHawaii. Born to a Cantonese immigrantsugar plantation worker, Fong was one of the first two senators for Hawaii after it became the 50th US state in 1959. He was the firstChinese American and first Asian AmericanUnited States Senator, serving from 1959 to 1977, and to date he remains the only Republican U.S. senator from Hawaii.[2]
At the1964 Republican National Convention, Fong became the first Asian American to receive delegate votes for his party'snomination for President of the United States. In the Senate, Fong supported civil rights legislation and eliminatingethnic barriers to immigration.[3]
Fong was born in theHonolulu neighborhood ofKalihi on the island ofOahu as the seventh of 11 children.[4] His father, Fong Sau Howe, was of Cantonese origin (from modern dayZhuhai) and immigrated to Hawaii in 1872, along with nearly 45,000 other immigrants who would work on sugar plantations. Fong began working at age four picking beans for cattle feed, and by the age of seven was working as ashoeshiner.[5]
Fong attended local public schools and graduated fromMcKinley High School in 1924.[1]Masaji Marumoto, who went on to become the firstJapanese-American Justice on theSupreme Court of Hawaii, was a classmate.[6] In 1930, Fong obtained a degree from theUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa, and in 1935 obtained alaw degree fromHarvard Law School.[7]
After returning to Hawaii, Fong worked in the Office of theProsecuting Attorney of Honolulu. In 1938, Fong went into private legal practice and founded the firm of Fong, Miho, Choy, and Robinson. In 1942, he changed his name to "Hiram",[1] reportedly in honor ofHiram Bingham I, an earlyProtestant missionary in Hawaii.[5]
DuringWorld War II, he served as aMajor in theUnited States Army Air Forces as aJudge Advocate, later retiring as a colonel from theUnited States Air Force Reserve.[1][8]
The same year he founded his law office, Fong entered elected political life as a member of theHawaii Territorial House of Representatives where he becameSpeaker of the House from 1948 to 1954.[9] During this time, he was one of the foremost leaders in the fight to make Hawaii a state. As a territorial legislator, Fong was a delegate to the1952 Republican National Convention.[10]
Fong was forced into retirement when theDemocratic Party of Hawaii successfully ended aHawaii Republican Party stronghold over theHawaii Territorial Legislature by voting most Republican incumbents out of office. Fong founded several businesses after leaving the legislature.[1]
In 1952, along with five other island families, Hiram Fong started Finance Factors, one of the first industrial and consumer loan companies, to service the growing numbers of minorities who were seeking to start new businesses and buy homes.[11]
After Hawaiiachieved statehood in 1959, Fong became one of the state's first two U.S. Senators, serving alongside popular formerGovernorOren E. Long, a Democrat.[12]
According toThe Washington Post, Fong's political success can be partially attributed to the support he received from the powerfulInternational Longshore and Warehouse Union.[3] In office, Fong was generally regarded as a moderate Republican, voting in favor of many of PresidentLyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society" initiatives, such as the establishment ofMedicare in 1965.[13]
In the1959 election, Fong won against DemocratFrank Fasi by a margin of 52.9 to 47.1%.[14] In1964, Fong was reelected with 53% of the vote against DemocratThomas Gill, who received 46.4%.[15] Fong was reelected again in1970 by an even closer margin of 51.6 to 48.4% versus DemocratCecil Heftel.[16] In1976 at the age of 70, Fong chose to retire rather than seek reelection, and was succeeded by DemocratSpark Matsunaga.[17]
Fong was twice honored as Hawaii'sfavorite son at the Republican National Convention in1964 and1968.[18] In 1964, he became the first Asian American to receive votes for president at a major party convention, receiving the votes of the Hawaii and Alaska delegations.[19] Fong is to date the only Republican to ever serve as a Hawaii U.S. Senator.[20]
Fong was booed by an audience for defendingGeorge W. Romney, theSecretary of Housing and Urban Development, in the wake of a real-estate industry scandal.[21]
In 1960,Richard Nixon remarked that "the American dream is not just a dream, it does come true – Hiram Fong's life proves it" during a visit to Hawaii.[22]
Fong voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1960,[23]1964,[24] and1968,[25] as well as the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution[26] Fong supported theVoting Rights Act of 1965, and wrote an amendment to havepoll watchers safeguard the election process.[13] Additionally, Fong voted in favor the confirmation ofThurgood Marshall to theU.S. Supreme Court.[27]
In 1965, during debate onImmigration and Nationality Act of 1965, Fong answered questions concerning the possible change in U.S. cultural patterns by an influx of Asians:
"Asians represent six-tenths of 1 percent of the population of the United States ... concerning Japan, we estimate that there will be a total for the first 5 years of some 5,391 ... the people from that part of the world will never reach 1 percent of the population ...Our cultural pattern will never be changed as far as America is concerned." (U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Immigration and Naturalization of the Committee on the Judiciary, Washington, D.C., February 10, 1965, pp.71, 119.)[28]
During Nixon's presidency, Fong was a vocal supporter of theVietnam War, which reportedly left many Asian-American constituents displeased.[3] According to theHonolulu Star-Bulletin, Fong's support for the Vietnam War led to him losing votes in the1970 election, his last reelection campaign.[29]
Fong married Ellyn Lo in 1938; they had four children. After retiring from the Senate, Fong faced financial and legal difficulties, including several lawsuits with a son over the family's businesses that forced him and his wife to declare bankruptcy in 2003.[1] They managed a botanical garden of 725 acres (293 ha) that was opened to the public in 1988.[4]
On August 18, 2004, Hiram Fong died of kidney failure at his home in Honolulu; he was the last living former U.S. senator born in the 1900s decade.[30]
Fong was aCongregationalist and was buried in Nuuanu Memorial Park and Mortuary in Honolulu.[31]
Fong's papers were donated to theUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa Library in August 1998. Fong also provided financial support to the preservation and inventorying of over a thousand boxes, crates, and trunks of documents. Within them included papers, photos, videos, and memorabilia from Fong's congressional tenure and pre-political life, including law-school notes.[9] Included in the collection are series of Washington, D.C., and Hawaii office files, Post Office and Civil Service Committee (POCS) materials, and political souvenirs.
Approximately 80 boxes of books accompanied Fong's papers, several dedicated his work on Senate committees such as the POCS. A few of the books were kept with thecongressional collection, though the majority were added to the university library. A gift book plate was designed for these incorporating the senator's noted signature.[9] The papers were processed in 2003 by archivist Dee Hazelrigg, and are available to researchers by appointment.[9]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| First | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator from Hawaii (Class 1) 1959,1964,1970 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| New seat | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Hawaii 1959–1977 Served alongside:Oren Long,Daniel Inouye | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Post Office and Civil Service Committee 1969–1977 | Position abolished |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Aging Committee 1971–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Oldest Living United States Senator Sitting or Former 2003–2004 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
