Wyllie, Robert Crichton, 1798-1865

Robert Crichton Wyllie was born in East Ayrshire, Scotland, on October 13, 1798. He received a medical diploma from the University of Glasgow and left Scotland as a ship's surgeon, intending to travel to Russia. Instead he settled in Chile in 1818, and in 1824 traveled to India, stopping first in Hawaii. Wyllie went to England in 1830 and grew a small banking fortune. In the 1840s he visited Mexico, and in 1844 sailed to Hawaii, where he would remain for the rest of his life. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs and as a member of the House of Nobles by King Kamehameha III in 1845. Wyllie spent much of his time trying to prevent American influence in Hawaii, and helped keep Hawaii neutral during the Civil War. He died in Honolulu on October 19, 1865.