"dsi1" wrote in message
...

On Thursday, August 9, 2018 at 1:28:16 PM UTC-10, GM wrote:
> Pretty cool, I did not know this:
>
> https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-histo...me-electrified
>
> Why Hawaii Got Electricity Before Most of the Rest of the World
>
> In 1881, Thomas Edison convinced King Kalakaua that electric streetlamps
> were superior to gas
>
> 'In 1881, King David Kalakaua of Hawaii went on a world tour, the first of
> its kind for a sitting monarch. He circumnavigated the globe, stopping in
> Asia, India, Egypt, Europe, and the United States. Among other things, he
> sought to encourage immigration from the Asia-Pacific region, as Hawaiis
> dwindling population had created a labor shortage on its sugar
> plantations. But the king also wanted to introduce the culture of Hawaii
> to the world, and he was curious about modern science and technology.
>
> When he arrived in Paris in August 1881, the International Exposition of
> Electricity was just getting under way. The exposition showcased the
> latest advancements in electrical technology, such as dynamos, batteries,
> and lighting. The first International Electrical Congress also convened
> during the exposition, with participants presenting papers, discussing
> research, and deciding on definitions for the ampere, the volt, the ohm,
> and other electrical units.
>
> King Kalakaua visited the exposition and was eager to learn more. George
> Jones [PDF], cofounder of The New York Times, met the king in Vienna and
> promised an introduction to Thomas Edison. That meeting took place on 25
> September 1881 in Edisons New York City office. According to The Sun (New
> York), the king and the inventor discussed not only the technicalities of
> electric lights but also the business of selling power.
>
> As described in The Sun, Hawaiis attorney general, William N. Armstrong,
> told Edison that the kingdom had a volcano €œthat burns a thousand million
> tons of coal a day.€� He jokingly added: €œYou could put your boilers on top
> of the volcano and get power enough to supply the country.€� Apparently,
> Edison didnt get the joke and asked if that was where Hawaii mined its
> coal. Armstrong replied that in fact Hawaii imported its coal from
> Australia, but the volcano was their great hope. Some people have since
> speculated that Armstrongs remark indicated an early interest in
> geothermal power, but it was more likely a failed attempt at humor.
>
> In any event, Kalakaua explained to Edison that he was keen to upgrade the
> kerosene lamps that lit the streets of Honolulu but couldnt decide
> between gas and electricity. He wanted to see a full and practical trial
> of electric lights before deciding. For that, the king had to wait another
> five years.
>
> On 21 July 1886, Honolulu businessman Charles Otto Berger organized a
> demonstration of electric lights at Iolani Palace. It drew a crowd of
> 5,000 spectators and included a Hawaiian band and a military parade.
>
> A few months later, the royal residency and palace grounds were fully
> illuminated for the kings birthday, on 16 November 1886. [An original
> chandelier from the throne room is pictured at top, although these days it
> uses LED lights.] Electric lighting extended to the streets of Honolulu
> when Princess Kaiulani threw the switch on 23 March 1888.
>
> Two of the greatest challenges to the electrification of Hawaii were
> getting equipment to the island nation and establishing an appropriate
> fuel supply. Machinery for the power plants came from the United States,
> including a turbine manufactured by Leffel & Co., in Springfield, Ohio,
> dynamos from the Thomson-Houston Co., in Massachusetts, and piping and
> valves from Risdon Ironworks, in San Francisco.
>
> As for the second challenge, hydroelectric power seemed a natural choice
> given Hawaiis terrain and wet climate. The Nuuanu stream, about 6
> kilometers northeast of the palace, fed the first electric light station
> that powered Honolulus streetlights. But its water flow was uneven, and
> so the next station to be built was coal fired.
>
> Interestingly, the electrification of Iolani Palace was not the first
> demonstration of electric lighting in the Hawaiian Islands. That
> distinction goes to a sugar mill on Maui owned by sugar magnate Claus
> Spreckels. On 22 September 1881, Spreckels demonstrated electric lights at
> Mill No. 1 on his plantation. He realized that artificial lighting would
> allow his workers to process sugar cane around the clock, thus avoiding
> the expense of any downtime during peak season. King Kalakaua and members
> of the royal household inspected Spreckelss mills numerous times. Dowager
> Queen Emma, the widow of King Kamehameha IV, reportedly exclaimed that the
> electric lights were like daylight.
>
> At the time, Spreckels held a near monopoly on the sugarcane industry in
> Hawaii, thanks to his close ties to King Kalakaua. Spreckels had bought
> political influence by making personal loans to the king and €œgifts€� to
> the kingdom. When he was initially establishing his first sugar
> plantation, for example, Spreckels sought water rights for irrigation, but
> the Hawaiian cabinet balked. After the businessman made certain monetary
> donations, however, a new cabinet was installed, and they promptly
> approved Spreckelss water rights as well as the construction of a
> 65-km-long irrigation ditch, the longest in the kingdom at the time.
>
> By 1886, though, Spreckels and the king had fallen out. Kalakaua, looking
> to diversify his kingdoms business base, viewed electricity and other new
> technologies as a way to encourage investment. After the successful
> display of electric streetlights, the Honolulu company E.O. Hall & Son
> began installing generators in homes and on sugarcane plantations. By
> 1890, almost 800 Honolulu residences were enjoying the luxury of
> electricity, at a time when most people in Europe and the United States
> still did without. A year later, several officers of E.O. Hall formed the
> Hawaiian Electric Co. (HECO).
>
> The king didnt live long enough to see the completion of all that he had
> set in motion. In 1891, while visiting California, he died of kidney
> disease. His sister Liliuokalani succeeded him, but her reign proved
> brief. Five days before the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown in 1893, in
> one of her last official acts, the queen approved legislation for the
> Hawaiian government to provide and regulate the production of electricity
> in Honolulu. HECO, the only bidder, was granted a 10-year lease to supply
> power to the people of Honolulu. The provisional Hawaiian government
> retained control over the original Nuuanu Electric Power Station to power
> the streetlights.
>
> On 23 March 2018, the 130th anniversary of the illumination of Honolulu,
> an IEEE Milestone was dedicated to €œthe electric lighting of the Kingdom
> of Hawaii 1886€“1888.€� Spreckelss sugar mill on Maui no longer exists, but
> Iolani Palace is open to the public Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to
> 4:00 p.m.
>
> An abridged version of this article appears in the April 2018 print issue
> as €œEdison and the King.€�
>
> Part of a continuing series looking at photographs of historical artifacts
> that embrace the boundless potential of technology...'
>
> About the Author
> Allison Marsh is an associate professor of history at the University of
> South Carolina and codirector of the Ann Johnson Institute for Science,
> Technology & Society there.

Interesting article. The Royal Hawaiians were an oddly progressive lot and
were eager to learn the ways of the English and Americans. In the end, they
got more than they bargained for. In the scant 115 years after Captain Cook
landed on these shores, the Hawaiians lost everything and the Kingdom of
Hawaii was gone. Some people still feel raw about that.

==

Understandable Has that independence been recovered at all? Pardon me
for my ignorance, but I knew nothing about Hawaii till I came here.