March 26 is Prince Kūhiō Day in Hawai’i commemorating the birth in 1871 of Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniana’ole, King of Hawai’i until it was overthrown in 1893 by a group of American and European businessmen. He later became a territorial delegate to the United States Congress.
As a delegate, Kūhiō authored the first Hawaii Statehood bill in 1919. He also won passage of the Hawaiian Homes Act, creating the Hawaiian Homes Commission and setting aside 200,000 acres (810 km2) of land for Hawaiian homesteaders.
Despite Kūhiō’s wishes, the Act contained high blood-quantum requirements and leased land instead of granting it fee-simple, creating a perpetual government institution.
Kūhiō died on January 7, 1922. His body was interred near his royal family at the Royal Mausoleum known as Mauna ʻAla on the island of Oʻahu.
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