Leleiohoku I

Who was Leleiohoku I?

William Pitt Leleiohoku I was a Hawaiian noble during the Kingdom of Hawaii who married two notable princesses and served as Royal Governor of Hawaii island.

Leleiohoku was born on March 31, 1821 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. He was the son of the Prime Minister Kalanimoku who was called The Iron Pillar of Hawaii and took the English name of William Pitt after his contemporary William Pitt the Younger of England. His mother was Kiliwehi, the daughter of King Kamehameha I. She name him in honor of the date of death of Kamehameha on the Hawaiian calendar, on the night of Hoku, Kaelo; Leleiohoku means "Fled in the time of Hoku" in the Hawaiian language. Other accounts give his mother as Kuwahine, who was another wife of Kalanimoku and a daughter of Governor Kaikioʻewa of Kauai and Piʻipiʻi Kalanikaulihiwakama, Kamehameha I's half-sister. He was considered of the highest hereditary descent after the king. He was hānai by John Adams Kuakini, who was Governor of Hawaii Island and brother of the powerful Queen Kaʻahumanu. He attended Lahainaluna Seminary ran by the American missionaries and converted to Christianity.