Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hawaii becomes the 50th US State. Hawaii's Daniel Inouye is the first Japanese American elec-
ted to the US Congress, which he serves in continuously until his death in 2012.
1961
Elvis Presley stars in the musical Blue Hawaii. Along with Girls! Girls! Girls!and Paradise,
Hawaiian Style,Elvis' on-screen romps set the mood for Hawaii's post-statehood tourism boom.
1962
John Burns is elected governor as Democrats take control of all three branches of state govern-
ment (including Hawaii's House and Senate), a grip on power they hold until 2002.
1968
Hawaii Five-0begins its 12-year run, becoming one of American TV's longest-running crime dra-
mas. The iconic theme song is kept when the prime-time TV series is relaunched in 2010.
1971
The Merrie Monarch hula festival, begun in 1964, holds its first competitive hula competition;
part of a Hawaiian cultural renaissance, it becomes a proving ground for serious hula practition-
ers.
1976
Native Hawaiian sovereignty activists illegally occupy the island of Kahoʻolawe. The Hokuleʻa- a
reproduction of an ancient Polynesian voyaging canoe - successfully sails to Tahiti and back.
1978
The 1978 Constitutional Convention establishes the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), which
holds the Hawaiian Home Lands in trust to be used for the benefit of Native Hawaiians.
1983
Kilauea volcano begins its current eruption cycle, now the longest in recorded history; eruptions
have destroyed the entire village of Kalapana, various residential subdivisions and a coastal
road.
1992
On September 11 Hurricane ʻIniki slams into Kauaʻi, demolishing almost 1500 buildings and
damaging 5000, causing $1.8 billion in damage. Miraculously, only four people are killed.
1993
