Fong, Hiram, 1906-2004

Hiram Leong Fong (born Yau Leong Fong; October 15, 1906 – August 18, 2004) was an American businessman, lawyer, and politician from Hawaii. He served as a member of the Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives from 1938 to 1954, serving as Speaker of the House in his last six years, and as the first Asian-American United States Senator, representing Hawaii from 1959 to 1977. At the 1964 Republican National Convention, Fong became the first Asian-American to receive delegate votes for his party's nomination for President of the United States.

Born in Hawaii, he attended local public schools and graduated from McKinley High School in 1924 before earning a B.A. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. After earning his J.D., Fong returned to Honolulu and worked in the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney of Honolulu. In 1938, Fong went into private legal practice and founded the firm of Fong, Miho, Choy, and Robinson, the same year he entered the Hawaii Territorial House of Representatives. During this time, he was one of the foremost leaders in the fight to make Hawaii a state. He was forced into retirement when the Democratic Party of Hawaii successfully ended a Hawaii Republican Party stronghold over the Hawaii Territorial Legislature by voting most Republican incumbents out of office. Fong founded several businesses after leaving the legislature.

Upon achieving statehood through the Admission Act of 1959, Hawaii returned Fong to elected office; he became one of its first United States Senators. During his time in the Senate, Fong voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1960, 1964, and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court. Fong supported both the Vietnam War and President Nixon during the Watergate scandal. Citing a growing workload and desire to spend more time with his family and friends, Fong declined to run for re-election in 1976. Fong returned to his law firm, his plantation on Oahu, and various businesses as chairman of Finance Enterprises Ltd. Fong worked well into his 90s. He died of kidney failure on August 18, 2004, in Kahaluu, Hawaii.