Charles Reed Bishop
A Honolulu merchant whose profound love for a princess fueled a legacy of philanthropy that forever changed Hawaiian education.
1822–1915 (age 93)·American businessman, politician, and philanthropist·Birthday: January 25
Biography
Charles Reed Bishop arrived in the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1846 as a young man from New York, seeking opportunity. He found far more, building a successful banking business and, fatefully, marrying the high-ranking aliʻi Bernice Pauahi Paki. Bishop's life became inextricably linked to hers and, after her death, to her visionary final wish. As the sole trustee of her vast estate, he dedicated his fortune and the remainder of his life to establishing and nurturing the Kamehameha Schools, founded in 1887. Bishop guided the institution with a businessman's acumen and a philanthropist's heart, ensuring it had the financial foundation to thrive. His efforts, in faithful execution of Pauahi's will, created an educational system that would empower generations of Native Hawaiians, making him an unexpected but pivotal architect of modern Hawaiian identity.
#1 When Charles Was Born
The biggest hits of 1822
Charles's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1822Born
1827Started school
1835Became a teenager
1838Could drive
1840Could vote
1843Turned 21
1852Turned 30
1862Turned 40
President: Abraham Lincoln
1872Turned 50
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1882Turned 60
First electrical power plant opens in New York
President: Chester A. Arthur
1892Turned 70
President: Benjamin Harrison
1902Turned 80
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1915Died at 93
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the first successful bank in Hawaii, Bishop & Company (later First Hawaiian Bank).
- Served as a member of the Hawaiian Kingdom's House of Nobles and in various cabinet positions.
- As sole trustee, founded and endowed the Kamehameha Schools, one of the largest private school systems in the United States.
- Established the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, a world-renowned institution for Hawaiian and Pacific culture and natural history.
Did You Know?
He met his future wife, Bernice Pauahi, when she was just a student at the Chiefs' Children's School.
Bishop personally contributed substantial sums of his own money to the Kamehameha Schools beyond what was stipulated in the will.
After Pauahi's death, he married a woman named Anna Charlotte Rice, but continued to prioritize his first wife's legacy.
He served as the Kingdom's Minister of Foreign Affairs for a period, navigating complex international relations.
“The true wealth of these islands is in the minds and character of its youth.”
