James Austin "Kimo" Wilder (May 22, 1868 – July 4, 1934) was an artist, writer, and scouting pioneer in Hawaii. Wilder was born on May 22, 1868, in

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 ...

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, the son of shipping magnate

Samuel Gardner Wilder Samuel Gardner Wilder (June 20, 1831 – July 28, 1888) was an American shipping magnate and politician who developed a major transportation company in the Kingdom of Hawaii. Life Samuel Gardner Wilder was born June 20, 1831, in Leominster, ...

. He had five siblings. Wilder attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

in 1893–1896. Wilder married Sarah Harnden September 12, 1899, in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...

and had two children. His daughter Kinaʻu Wilder (1902–1992) married

Charles B. McVay III Charles Butler McVay III (August 31, 1898 – November 6, 1968) was an American naval officer and the commanding officer of the cruiser which was lost in action in 1945, resulting in a significant loss of life. Of all captains in the history of ...

and had son

Kimo Wilder McVay James “Kimo” Wilder McVay (September 16, 1927 – June 29, 2001) was an American musician turned talent manager, who successfully promoted Hawaiian entertainment acts. McVay promoted and managed acts such as teenage heartthrob Robin Luke, Don ...

(1927–2001), who managed

Don Ho Donald Tai Loy Ho (; August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer, and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the 1966 album of the same name. Early life, family and education Ho ...

when he popularized the song ''

Tiny Bubbles "Tiny Bubbles" is a song written by Leon Pober and performed by Don Ho. It comes from the album of the same name. The single peaked at #57 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #14 on the Easy Listening charts in March 1967. By 1968, "Tiny Bubbles" ...

''.

Background

He became an artist and founded the first

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

troop in Hawaii with

D. Howard Hitchcock David Howard Hitchcock (May 15, 1861 – January 1, 1943) was an American painter of the Volcano School, known for his depictions of Hawaii. Life David Howard Hitchcock was born May 15, 1861, in Hilo, Hawaii. Since his father was also named Dav ...

, another artist who married Wilder's cousin. Wilder was active in Hawaii Scouting and traveled to the eastern United States where he developed Seascouting for older teen scouts and the Pine Tree Patrol System. Seascouting was introduced in 1919. The James A. Wilder Residence built in 1907 in

is historic. In 1917, Wilder wrote a story titled ''Knights of the Square Table''. This was adapted into a

Conquest Pictures Conquest Pictures was a film production unit launched in 1917 as part of Thomas A. Edison, Inc. It produced films for young people and families including subjects from popular children's authors such as Robert Louis Stevenson, Richard Harding Davis ...

film of the same title, in which Wilder played a scoutmaster. The film is held by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

. He composed the song, ''A Sea Scout Chantey''. He painted a portrait of Prince Kuhio that hangs in the 'Iolani Palace's throne room and painted U.S. Congressman

William D. Thomas William David Thomas (March 22, 1880 – May 17, 1936) was an American pharmacist and politician from Hoosick Falls, New York. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as a member of the United States House of Representatives from New Y ...

. Wilder died on July 4, 1934, in Honolulu.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilder, James A. 1868 births 1934 deaths Harvard University alumni Artists from Honolulu Writers from Honolulu Hawaiian Kingdom people