Timeline in Hawaiian History...1875 - 1899 AD

1876 – The U.S. Senate ratifies the Reciprocity Treaty on August 15, allowing sugar and other products to enter the United States from Hawai‘i without customs duties.

1877 – Prince Leleiohoku, 23, heir to the throne, dies. Princess Lili‘uokalani is proclaimed heir.

By 1878 there were only 48,000 pure Hawaiians left alive (Noyes, 2003).

1878 – A charter is granted to C.H. Dickey and C.H. Wallace for the Hawaiian Telegraph Co.
• Portuguese contract laborers arrive from the Madeira Islands.

1879 – The first artesian wells are drilled by James Campbell on the ‘Ewa plain, providing irrigation for fields.
• The Kahului-Wailuku Railroad, running from Kahului to Pā‘ia, opens; it is the first common rail carrier in Hawai‘i.
• The cornerstone of ‘Iolani Palace is laid.

1880 – The Hawaiian Bell Telephone Company is incorporated.

1881 – An eruption of Mauna Loa in November threatens Hilo August 9. Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani asks the gods to spare the town and the lava flow stops.

1882 – The construction of ‘Iolani Palace is completed – at a cost of $350,000.

1883 – King Kalākaua and Queen Kapi‘olani, hold a coronation ceremony in front of ‘Iolani Palace to mark the ninth year of his reign.
• The statue of Kamehameha I is unveiled on February 14 in front of Ali‘iolani Hale.
• May 24 – Princess Ruth Ke‘elikolani, 57, dies. She was a great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I, a defender of native Hawaiian customs and traditions, and a major landholder in Hawai‘i. Most of her lands are gifted to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.
• Mother Marianne and the sisters of St. Francis arrive in Hawai‘i to care for those afflicted with Hansen‘s disease.

1884 – January 8 - Princess Kekaulike, 40, governess for the Big Island and sister of Queen Kapi‘olani, dies.
• October 16 – Bernice Pauahi Bishop, 53, Hawaiian philanthropist, great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I and wife of businessman Charles Reed Bishop, dies. She was the last surviving heir of the Kamehamehas. Her estate – Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estates – is the largest private landowner in the state of Hawai‘i, comprising 9% of Hawai’i’s total area. Revenues from these lands are used to operate the Kamehameha Schools, which were established in 1887 according to Princess Pauahi’s will.

1885 – April 25 – Dowager Queen Emma, 49, dies. She was married to Kamehameha VI, and together they had a son, Prince Albert Edward Kamehameha, who died at the age of four in 1862; her husband, Kamehameha VI died a year later. Queen Emma ran for ruling monarch against David Kalākaua but was defeated.

1886 – ‘Iolani Palace Square is illuminated by electric lights; two years later, electric street lighting replaces gas lamps in Honolulu.

1887 – King Kalākaua is forced by the Hawaiian League, a group favoring a more liberalized constitution, to sign the "bayonet constitution".

1888 – January 21 – Walter Murray Gibson, 66, former premier of the kingdom of Hawai'i, dies.
• Kaumakapili Church is dedicated.
• Hawaiian Tramways, Ltd., starts a mule-car service in Honolulu December 28. It is taken over in November 1900 by the Honolulu Rapid Transit & Land Company.

1889 – The yacht Casco arrives with Robert Louis Stevenson and family aboard.
• Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox leads a brief and unsuccessful revolt against the Reform Government. Seven rebels are killed and a dozen more are wounded.
• April 15 – Father Damien, 49, dies of leprosy.

1890 – King Kalākaua departs on the U.S.S. Charleston for San Francisco on November 25; less than two months later, on January 20, 1891 King Kalākaua, 54, dies in San Francisco; his body is brought back to Hawai‘i aboard the U.S.S. Charleston.

1891 – Lili‘uokalani is proclaimed queen on January 29.
• The funeral for Kalākaua is held at ‘Iolani Palace.
• Queen Lili‘uokalani names Princess Ka‘iulani her heir to the throne.
• Queen Lili‘uokalani visits the Hansen's disease settlement at Kalaupapa.

1892 – The Hawaiian Historical Society holds its first official meeting; Charles R. Bishop is chosen as the Society’s first president.

1893 – Queen Lili‘uokalani attempts to proclaim a new constitution, restoring to the throne powers that were deleted in the constitution of 1887.
• Queen Lili‘uokalani is deposed on January 17; a provisional government is established under Sanford B. Dole.
• The ‘Iolani Palace custodian turns over the crowns worn by King Kalakaua and Queen Kapi‘olani to the government. The jewels from the king's crown are discovered to be missing.

1894 – The Republic of Hawai‘i is established; Sanford B. Dole becomes president of the republic.

1895 – Robert William Kalanihiapo Wilcox fails in his attempt to lead a revolt to restore the monarchy.
• Queen Lili‘uokalani abdicates the throne and pledges allegiance to the republic.
• Mary Abigail Kawena ʻulaokalaniahiʻiakaikapoliopelekawahineʻaihonua Wiggin Puku‘i (1895–1986) is born in Ka‘ū, on the Big Island.

1898 – Spain declares war on the United States on April 24, and the U.S. Congress responds in kind on April 25. Troops are temporarily stationed at Camp McKinley near Diamond Head.
• The first motion picture filmed in Hawai‘i is shot by Edison photographers on their way through Honolulu.
• Theo. H. Davies, owner of Theo H. Davies & Co., one of the Big Five trading and agricultural companies in Hawai’i dies.
• President McKinley signs a joint resolution of Congress on July 7 that annexes Hawai‘i to the United States. Hawai‘i's sovereignty is transferred to the US on August 12.

1899 – March 6 - Princess Ka‘iulani, 23, dies. The new Princess Ka‘iulani School, reported to be the finest public school building in the Islands, opens soon thereafter.
• June 24 – Queen Kapi‘olani, 64, the granddaughter of Kaumuali‘i, the last king of Kaua‘i, dies.
• The first cars appear on the streets of Honolulu.
• A bubonic plague epidemic breaks out in Honolulu.