Samuel King | |
|---|---|
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| 11thTerritorial Governor of Hawaii | |
| In office February 28, 1953 – July 26, 1957 | |
| Appointed by | Dwight D. Eisenhower |
| Preceded by | Oren E. Long |
| Succeeded by | William F. Quinn |
| Delegate to theU.S. House of Representatives fromHawaii'sat-large district | |
| In office January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1943 | |
| Preceded by | Lincoln Loy McCandless |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Rider Farrington |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Samuel Wilder King (1886-12-17)December 17, 1886 |
| Died | March 24, 1959(1959-03-24) (aged 72) Honolulu,Territory of Hawaii |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | Pauline Nawahineokalai Evans |
| Children | 2, includingSamuel |
| Education | United States Naval Academy (BS) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1910–1924 1943–1946 |
| Rank | Captain |
Samuel Wilder King (December 17, 1886 – March 24, 1959) was the eleventhTerritorial Governor of Hawaii and served from 1953 to 1957. He was appointed to the office after the term ofOren E. Long. Previously, King served in theUnited States House of Representatives as adelegate from theTerritory of Hawaii. He was a member of theRepublican Party of Hawaii and was the first ofnative Hawaiian descent to rise to the highest office in the territory.
His fatherJames A. King (1832–1899) was aship's master forSamuel Gardner Wilder, and later politician in theRepublic of Hawaii.[1] His mother was Charlotte Holmes Davis, daughter of part-HawaiianRobert Grimes Davis, who descended from Oliver Holmes,Governor of Oʻahu underKamehameha I.King was born December 17, 1886, inHonolulu and was a subject of theKingdom of Hawai'i. A devoutRoman Catholic, King attendedSaint Louis School, but graduated from McKinley High School. Upon graduating, King went on to study at theUnited States Naval Academy inAnnapolis, Maryland. He entered theUnited States Navy as a commissioned officer where he served from 1910 to 1924. At the time of his discharge, he had attained the rank of lieutenant commander.On March 18, 1912, he married Pauline Nawahineokalai Evans, another part-Hawaiian.[2]
King returned to his hometown in 1925 where he entered the real estate profession. In 1932, he ran for his first public office and served for two years on theBoard of Supervisors of Honolulu. In 1934, King was elected to theUnited States Congress as a delegate. He served inWashington, D.C., from January 1935 to January 1943.[3]With the outbreak ofWorld War II, King resigned from Congress to accept a naval commission to become a commander, then captain. He retired from military service in 1946.
Once again, King returned to his hometown and was appointed to a sub-cabinet office of the governor's administration. King served in the Emergency Housing Committee for a year. He was then appointed to the Hawaii Statehood Commission in 1947 where he stayed until 1953.[3]President of the United StatesDwight D. Eisenhower appointed King to the governorship that year. He was the first governor of Hawaiian ancestry. He served inʻIolani Palace until his resignation on July 31, 1957. During his term in office he signed HB 706 on June 5, 1957, which outlawed thedeath penalty in Hawaii. It became Act 282. He died in Honolulu March 24, 1959, just before Hawaii achieved statehood. He was buried in theNational Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
His sonSamuel Pailthorpe King (1916–2010) became a lawyer and Federal Judge.[4] His grandson, Samuel Pailthorpe King, Jr. also became a lawyer and in 1985 established his own law practice with his wife, Adrienne King, also a lawyer, as King and King, Attorneys-At-Law. King's great-grandson, Samuel Wilder King II, is also a lawyer now practicing in Honolulu; his own son was named Samuel Wilder King III.[5] King's great-granddaughter, violist and composerLeilehua Lanzilotti, was a finalist for the2022 Pulitzer Prize in Music.[6]
In 2018, King was the subject of the short documentarySamuel Wilder King: Hawaii Statehood directed by Carolina Gratianne and produced byDaniel Bernardi with the collaboration of El Dorado Films, the Veteran Documentary Corps, and the King family.[7]
To join the republic, Hawaii needed a King.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Delegate to theU.S. House of Representatives fromHawaii's at-large congressional district 1935–1943 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Hawaii 1953–1957 | Succeeded by |
| Territorial Governor of Hawaiʻi(1898–1941) |   | |
|---|---|---|
| Military Governor of Hawaii(1941–1944) | ||
| Territorial Governor of Hawaiʻi(1944–1959) | ||
| Governor of Hawaiʻi(1959–present) | ||
| Territorial delegate (1899–1959) |  | ||||
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| One at-large seat (1959–1963) | |||||
| Two at-large seats (1963–1971) |
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| Districts (1971–present) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
