Alexander Young (December 14, 1833July 2, 1910) was a mechanical engineer and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. He began as an apprentice for Alexander Chaplin & Co. in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, and then Anderson & Co. in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He married Ruth Pearce in early 1860 and traveled to

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

on August 26, 1860, to construct a sawmill. The two (with one child) traveled to Hawaii in February 1865. They had nine surviving children. Young had operated a small foundry and machine shop in

Hilo, Hawaii Hilo () is the largest settlement in and the county seat of Hawaii County, Hawaiʻi, United States, which encompasses the Island of Hawaiʻi, and is a census-designated place (CDP). The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 census. I ...

, with William Lidgate, and business expanded with the growth of Hawaii's sugar plantations. He moved to

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

around 1869 and bought the Honolulu Iron Works from Thomas Hughes, who had revived the business after a devastating fire in 1860. In 1875 Theophilus Harris Davies refinanced the Honolulu Iron Works and hired Young as manager. The two then organized the Waiakea Mill Company. Around 1900 he formed the von Hamm-Young Company. Principals were Young's son Archibald Alfred Young and son-in-law Conrad Carl von Hamm. An early project was the Alexander Young Hotel. In 1887 he became a citizen of the

Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ɛ ɐwˈpuni həˈvɐjʔi, was an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country from 1795 to 1893, which eventually encompassed all of the inhabited Hawaii ...

, and from 1887 to 1892 served in the House of Nobles. After the 1893

overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii The Hawaiian Kingdom was overthrown in a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani that took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu. The coup was led by the Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign residents (five Ame ...

, he served on an advisory council for the

provisional Government of Hawaii The Provisional Government of Hawaii (abbr.: P.G.; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Aupuni Kūikawā o Hawaiʻi'') was proclaimed after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893, by the 13-member Committee of Safety (Hawaii), Co ...

. From October 27, 1899, to May 18, 1900, he served as Minister of the Interior until the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Apri ...

government was established. After Young's death July 2, 1910, and Archibald's in 1925, von Hamm took over the business. It expanded to include automobile dealerships in the 1920s and other businesses. In 1964 it was renamed "The Hawaii Corporation". After von Hamm's death in 1965 the company eventually liquidated in one of Hawaii's first large bankruptcy cases.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Alexander 1833 births 1910 deaths 19th-century Scottish people Hawaiian Kingdom politicians People from Blackburn, West Lothian Scottish mechanical engineers Immigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles Republic of Hawaii Interior Ministers 19th-century Scottish businesspeople

See also

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