Early History
150,000 Diamond Head forms through a crack in the emerged reef of Oahu.
200–500 AD First settlers arrive in Hawaii, probably from the Marquesas Islands.
800–1200 Polynesian pioneers arrive, this time from Tahiti.
1750 Kamehameha (the Great) born on Hawaii Island’s northernmost point.
Priests row to greet Captain Cook
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Western Influence
1778 Captain James Cook encounters Hawaiian Islands, and names them Sandwich Islands, after his patron, the Earl of Sandwich.
1779 Cook killed in a skirmish with Hawaiians.
1790 Kamehameha I begins unification of the Hawaiian Islands by conquering Maui and Lanai.
1812 Sandalwood trade booms.
1819 Kamehameha I dies in Kailua, on Hawaii Island. His son, Liholiho, becomes Kamehameha II, and paves way for the introduction of Christianity in the islands by abolishing the ancient kapu system.
1820 The first contingent of Protestant missionaries arrives in Hawaii. The capital and royal court are moved to Lahaina, on Maui.
1825 Whaling industry begins 40-year boom.
1835 First Hawaiian sugar plantation established at Koloa, Kauai.
1845 The capital moves back to Honolulu from Lahaina.
1848 Kamehameha III enacts Great Mahele, dividing land among the crown, chiefs and commoners.
1852 The king unveils new constitution.
1869 “Big Five” company Alexander & Baldwin founded.
1872 Kamehameha V dies, ending the dynasty. He leaves no heir.
1873 Lunalilo elected king.
1874 After Lunalilo dies, Kalakaua is elected king. New monarch visits Washington, DC, to push for a reciprocity treaty with US.
1878 Thousands of immigrant plantation workers arrive, primarily from Portugal and Asia.
1887 Kalakaua signs Bayonet Constitution, which limits his power.
1889 Robert Wilcox leads unsuccessful revolt against opponents of the king.
1891 Kalakaua dies in San Francisco. His sister, Lili‘uokalani, is named queen.
Attack on the US Naval base at Pearl Harbor
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Fall of the Monarchy
1893 Anti-royalists launch successful coup.
1894 Provisional government declares itself to be the Republic of Hawaii.
1895 Supporters of Lili‘uokalani stage a counter coup, but are defeated.
1898 President William McKinley signs legislation to annexe Hawaii.
1900 Hawaii becomes territory of the United States. Construction of naval base at Pearl Harbor begins.
1902 First transpacific telegraphic cable linking Hawaii and California is laid.
1903 Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana‘ole begins term as Hawaii’s delegate to Congress.
1912 Hawaii’s premier surfer, Duke Kahanamoku, wins Olympic gold medal in swimming.
1917 Queen Lili‘uokalani dies.
1922 James Dole’s Hawaiian Pineapple Company buys island of Lanai.
1929 Inter-Island Airways (now Hawaiian Airlines) starts passenger service between islands.
1936 Pan American Airways launches transpacific passenger service to Hawaii.
1941 Japanese fighter planes bomb Pearl Harbor, propelling the United States into World War II.
Statehood
1959 Hawaii becomes 50th state.
1986 John Waihe‘e, the first ethnic Hawaiian governor, takes office.
1990s Resort development takes off along Oahu’s Waikiki Beach, and on Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii Island.
2002 Former Maui mayor Linda Lingle, a Republican, becomes Hawaii’s first female governor. She is re-elected in 2006.
2006 Del Monte ceases operating in Hawaii, leaving Dole as the island’s only pineapple producer.
2008 Barack Obama, a native of Hawaii, elected US President.
2012 Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation, buys 98 percent of the island of Lanai for a reported $600 million.
2013 State legislature legalizes same-sex marriage.