Samuel Wilder King (December 17, 1886March 24, 1959) was the eleventh
Territorial Governor of Hawaii and served from 1953 to 1957. He was appointed to the office after the term of
Oren E. Long. Previously, King served in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
as a
delegate from 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 ...
. He was a member of the
Republican Party of Hawaii and was the first of
native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiʻi was set ...
descent to rise to the highest office in the territory.
Education
His father
James A. King (1832–1899) was a
ship's master for
Samuel Gardner Wilder, and later politician in the
Republic of Hawaii
The Republic of Hawaii (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Lepupalika o Hawaii'' epupəˈlikə o həˈvɐjʔi was a short-lived one-party state in Hawaii, Hawaii between July 4, 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii had Black Week (H ...
. His mother was Charlotte Holmes Davis, daughter of part-Hawaiian
Robert Grimes Davis, who descended from Oliver Holmes,
Governor of Oʻahu under
Kamehameha I
Kamehameha I (; Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea; to May 8 or 14, 1819), also known as Kamehameha the Great, was the conqueror and first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii ...
.
King was born December 17, 1886, 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 ...
and was a subject of the
Kingdom of Hawai'i
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 ...
.
A devout
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, King attended
Saint Louis School, but graduated from McKinley High School. Upon graduating, King went on to study at the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
. He entered the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
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.
Early career
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 the
Board of Supervisors of Honolulu. In 1934, King was elected to the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
as a delegate. He served in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, from January 1935 to January 1943.
With the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, King resigned from Congress to accept a naval commission to become a commander, then captain. He retired from military service in 1946.
Later career
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.
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
appointed King to the governorship that year. He was the first governor of Hawaiian ancestry. He served in
ʻIolani Palace
The Iolani Palace () was the royal residence of the rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi beginning with Kamehameha III under the Kamehameha Dynasty (1845) and ending with Queen Liliʻuokalani (1893) under the Kalākaua Dynasty. It is located i ...
until his resignation on July 31, 1957. During his term in office he signed HB 706 on June 5, 1957, which outlawed the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...
in Hawaii. It became Act 282. He died in Honolulu March 24, 1959, just before Hawaii achieved statehood. He was buried in the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Descendants
His son
Samuel Pailthorpe King (1916–2010) became a lawyer and Federal Judge. 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. King's great-granddaughter, violist and composer
Leilehua Lanzilotti, was a finalist for the
2022 Pulitzer Prize in Music.
Legacy
In 2018, King was the subject of the short documentary ''Samuel Wilder King: Hawaii Statehood'' directed by Carolina Gratianne and produced by
Daniel Bernardi with the collaboration of El Dorado Films, the Veteran Documentary Corps, and the King family.
See also
*
List of Asian Americans and Pacific Islands Americans in the United States Congress
*
References
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Samuel Wilder
1886 births
1959 deaths
United States Navy personnel of World War I
United States Navy personnel of World War II
American people of Native Hawaiian descent
Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from the Territory of Hawaii
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Hawaii
Governors of the Territory of Hawaii
Hawaii Republicans
Native Hawaiian politicians
Politicians from Honolulu
Tanager Expedition
United States Naval Academy alumni
United States Navy officers
Burials at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives