On August 21st, 1959, Hawaii officially became the 50th state to join the United States, under president Dwight D. Eisenhower. It was a long time coming, since Hawaii had been a United States territory since 1898, but its path to statehood was anything but straightforward.
The Kingdom of Hawaii was internationally recognized as independent from 1810 onwards, but in 1893, British and American businessmen overthrew the government with help from the United States military, annexing Hawaii in 1898. The United States formally apologized for this aggressive act in 1993.
From its original inhabitants to the tragedy at Pearl Harbor, here are 28 photos of Hawaii before it became a state in 1959.
1
Two natives with outrigger canoes at Waikiki shoreline, Honolulu, Hawaii, late 1800s.
2
The flag of the Kingdom of Hawai'i over ʻIolani Palace being lowered to raise the United States flag to signify annexation. Honolulu, Territory of Hawai'i, United States. August 12, 1898.
3
Liliʻuokalani, the overthrown final monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, sitting on the porch of her private residence with her dog Poni, 1917.
4
State funeral of Queen Liliuokalani. Honolulu, Hawaii, 1917.
5
Woman standing in front of a grass thatched house, with the now extinct poi dog by her side, Oahu, Hawaii, 1900.
6
Niihauan men, women, and a girl, standing and sitting in front of a thatched dwelling, Niihau, Hawaii, circa 1885.
7
The great melting pot of Hawaii, Honolulu, 1948.
8
Niihauans fishing in canoes in Puʻuwai Beach, in the Kamalino District, Niihau, Hawaii, circa 1885.
9
Weightlifter and actor Steve Revees in a stop of his US tour to promote health and fitness in the youth with Abbye Stockton in Hawaii, 1947.
10
Aerial picture of the attack on Pearl Harbor, taken from a Japanese dive bomber. Hawaii, 1941.
11
Villagers at Hale, Niihau, Hawaii, 1885.
12
Kahului Harbor, Maui, Hawaii 1907.
13
The two younger sons of U.S. president, Franklin Roosevelt Jr. and John Roosevelt, posing with swimmer and surfing pioneer Duke Kahanamoku in Waikiki, Hawaii, on Aug 1934.
14
Night fishing in Hawaii, 1948.
15
My grandma in Hawaii in 1948 with a note in the bottom right corner, “to my dreamboat husband, from his little Geologist.” December, 1948.
16
This is Princess Lili'uokalani. She would become the last sovereign ruler of Hawaii. The photo was taken in 1853 when she was only 15 years old.
17
First known photo of a surfer. Hawaii, 1890.
18
Liliʻuokalani by the grace of God, Queen of the Hawaiian Islands at Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, London, 1887.
19
Hawaiian man at Hawaii island, 1890s.
20
A diver photographed after ascending from the oily interior of the sunken battleship USS Arizona. Photograph taken at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in the days following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
21
Group of Women on the beach in Hawaii, 1947.
22
Martial law in practice during World War II: Waikiki, Hawaii, circa 1942.
23
Surfers pose in front of their wooden surf boards in Honolulu, Hawaii, 1937. These boards often weighed more than 100 pounds.
24
“My grandparents in 1920's Hawaii.”
25
Seniors at the Kamehameha School for Girls, Honolulu, Hawaii. 1899.
26
Kids and sugarcane, Hawaii, 1890s.
27
Natives of Hawaii on the beach of Waikiki after a morning of fishing in 1895.
28
A man stands amongst Jurassic-sized foliage, Hawaii, 1924.
