Bishop, Bernice Pauahi, Princess, 1831-1884

<p>Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop was a woman of intelligence, compassion and foresight who understood that her kuleana as a Hawaiian ali‘i was to serve her people.</p>

<p>Born in December 19, 1831 to high chiefs Abner Pākī and Laura Kōnia Pākī, Pauahi was the great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I.</p>

<p>As the last royal descendant of the Kamehameha line, Pauahi inherited thousands of acres of land, much of it from the estate of her cousin Princess Ruth Ke‘elikōlani. Her inheritance, about nine percent of the island chain’s total acreage, made Pauahi the largest landholder in the kingdom.</p>

<p>When Pauahi was born, the Native Hawaiian population numbered about 124,000. When she wrote her will in 1883, only 44,000 Hawaiians remained. Pauahi witnessed the rapid decline of the Hawaiian population. With that decline came a loss of Hawaiian language, culture and traditions. She believed education would offer her people hope and a future, so she left her estate — about nine percent of the total acreage of the Hawaiian kingdom — to found Kamehameha Schools.</p>

<p>After Pauahi’s death on October 16, 1884, her husband Charles Reed Bishop served as president of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate’s board of trustees, ensuring that his wife’s wish was fulfilled. He generously provided his own funds for the construction of facilities and added some of his own properties to her estate. Until his death in 1915, he continued to guide her trustees in directions that reinforced her vision of a perpetual educational institution that would build a vibrant future for her people...</p>

<p>Pauahi’s endowment supports Kamehameha Schools, which has grown into a statewide educational system serving more than 48,000 learners annually at 30 preschool sites; K-12 campuses on Hawai‘i, Maui and O‘ahu; and through a broad range of community outreach programs.</p>

<p>Bernice Pauahi Bishop KGCOK RoK (December 19, 1831 – October 16, 1884), born Bernice Pauahi Pākī, was an aliʻi (noble) of the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Hawaii and a well known philanthropist. At her death, her estate was the largest private landownership in the Hawaiian Islands, comprising approximately 9% of Hawaii's total area. The revenues from these lands are used to operate the Kamehameha Schools, which were established in 1887 according to Pauahi's will. Pauahi was married to businessman and philanthropist Charles Reed Bishop...</p>

<p>By the time of her death in 1884, her estate consisted of 485,563 acres (which was reduced to 375,569 acres by the January 22, 1886, meeting of the Trustees of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate) of land across the Hawaiian Islands which she had either purchased or inherited from her parents Pākī and Kōnia, from her aunt ʻAkahi, from her cousin Keʻelikōlani and other relatives. These lands were incorporated after Pauahi's death into the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estates, which funds the Kamehameha Schools to the present day.</p>

<p>Bishop wished that a portion of her estate be used "to erect and maintain in the Hawaiian Islands two schools...one for boys and one girls, to be known as, and called the Kamehameha Schools." She directed her five trustees to invest her estate at their discretion and use the annual income to operate the schools. When she wrote her will, only 44,000 Hawaiians were alive. After Bishop's death in 1884, her husband Charles Reed Bishop started work in carrying out her will...</p>

<p>Charles Reed Bishop founded the Bernice P. Bishop Museum in 1889 as another memorial to Pauahi, on the grounds of the original boys school...</p>

Ke Ali'i Bernice Pauahi Pākī Bishop (1831-1884) — founder of Kamehameha Schools Pauahi Pākī was born on December 19, 1831 in Honolulu, Hawai‘i to high chiefs Abner Pākī and Laura Kōnia Pākī. She was the great-granddaughter of Kamehameha I, the warrior chief who united the Hawaiian islands under his rule in 1810.