DUKE’S REMARKABLE LIFE (1890-1968)

  • 1890
    Born in Honolulu on August 24 to Duke and Julia, full-blooded Hawaiians and descendants of royalty.
  • 1908
    Member of Kamehameha School’s championship soccer team.
  • 1911
    At 21, broke 3 freestyle world records in his first swimming races in Honolulu Harbor.
  • 1912
    Won 2 Olympic Medals in Stockholm – a Gold while setting the world record for the 100 meter freestyle and a Silver with the U.S. freestyle relay team.
  • 1914
    Introduced surfing to the U.S. Atlantic Coast.
  • 1914
    Introduced surfing to Australia and New Zealand
  • 1915-32
    Helped popularize swimming and surfing in California and the U.S.
  • 1918
    Swam in exhibitions in 30 mainland cities to raise money for the war effort.
  • 1920
    Won 2 more Gold Medals for swimming in the Antwerp Olympics for the 100 meter freestyle and on the U.S. freestyle relay team. Recommended surfing as an Olympic event.
  • 1924
    Won a Silver Medal in the Paris Olympics in the 100 meter freestyle.
  • 1922-30
    Lived in Los Angeles and played parts in over 28 Hollywood movies.
  • 1925
    Heroic board rescue of 8 drowning men at Newport Beach, CA.
  • 1929
    Rode a monster wave for 1 1/8 miles at Waikiki – likely the longest ride in modern times.
  • 1932
    At age 42, won a Bronze Medal as an alternate on the U.S. water polo team in the Los Angeles Olympics.
  • 1934-59
    Sheriff for city and county of Honolulu. Re-elected 13 times.
  • 1956
    Official U.S. Representative at the Melbourne Olympics.
  • 1960
    Appointed the new state of Hawaii’s Official Ambassador of Aloha.
  • 1964
    Official guest at the Tokyo Olympics.
  • 1966
    First person to be inducted into both the Swimming and Surfing Halls of Fame.
  • 1968
    Died in Honolulu on January 22 followed by a Waikiki Beachboy funeral.
  • 1984
    Posthumously inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.
  • 1990
    Statue dedicated at Waikiki on the centennial of his birth.
  • 1994
    Statue dedicated at Freshwater, Sydney, Australia.
    Biarritz, France Surf Festival named in his honor.
    Duke’s name inscribed in the Huntington Beach Surfer Walk of Fame.
  • 2002
    The United States Postal Service releases a limited edition first-class postage stamp depicting a young Duke Kahanamoku in Waikiki.