A young orphan boy from New York named Charles Reed Bishop chased his fortune out west, ended up marrying a Hawaiian princess and built a memorial to her that stands today, the Bernice P. Bishop Museum.
Bishop may best be known for his marriage in 1850 to Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop.
But at the time, Charles Reed Bishop was a successful businessman who was on his way to earning a reputation for philanthropy. One of the companies he founded, Aldrich & Bishop, in 1858, evolved into the Bishop Bank, which today goes by the name First Hawaiian Bank.
Bishop was born in 1822 in Glens Falls, N.Y., orphaned in childhood and raised by grandparents. He left home at the age of 15 and eventually sailed for Oregon in 1846 to make his fortune.
After ending up in Honolulu, Bishop posted government books, became a naturalized subject in 1849, was named collector general of customs and formed a partnership with W.A. Aldrich in a mercantile business.
Bishop was made a noble of the kingdom in 1860 and life member of the upper house of the legislature. After his wife's death, Bishop moved to San Francisco, where he died in 1915. His body was returned to Honolulu for a state funeral.
