January 7, 1873: William Lunalilo is elected King of Hawaii by the legislature after overwhelmingly winning the popular vote. It was actually a part of the Kingdom’s constitution that if a ruler died without naming an heir (in this case King Kamehameha V had died) then the legislature would have to appoint a king.

He ruled only until 1874, a little over a year, before he died of tuberculosis at the age of 39, leaving his estate to needy Hawaiians. Some believe he was poisoned due to his efforts to reform the Hawaiian government. Because Lunalilo’s popularity was so great, and because he became king through a democratic process, he became known as “The People’s King.”

Upon Lunalilo’s death, David Kalakaua gained the throne, becoming the last monarch to rule Hawaii.

HISTORICAL EVENTS ON THIS DAY – January 7th

• 1610: In a letter, Galileo first describes his recent celestial observations using his 20x spyglass      
• 1714: The typewriter is patented (but built years later) 
• 1784: The first U.S. seed business is established by David Landreth (Philadelphia) 
• 1785: The first balloon flight is made across the English Channel (Blanchard & Jeffries) 
• 1789: George Washington is elected president in the first U.S. national election 
• 1822: The first printing in Hawaii 
• 1896: Fanny Farmer publishes her first cookbook 
• 1914: The first steamboat passes through the Panama Canal 
• 1949: The first photograph of genes is announced in Los Angeles 
• 1959: The United States recognizes Fidel Castro’s Cuban government 
• 1968: The Surveyor 7 spaceprobe lands on the Moon 
• 1971: DDT pesticide use is banned in the U.S.
• 1972: Lewis F. Powell Jr. and William H. Rehnquist are sworn in to the Supreme Court 
• 1999: President Clinton’s impeachment trial begins in the Senate 
• 2000: The 17th Karmapa, a 14-year-old Tibetan Buddhist leader, flees Chinese-ruled Tibet for India

BORN ON THIS DAY – January 7th