Joseph B. Poindexter already had distinguished himself as a Mainland attorney by the time he was appointed a U.S. district judge in Hawai'i, a job that led to governorship of the territory during the Great Depression and World War II.
Born in Oregon in 1869, Poindexter moved to Montana after law school. He served as county district attorney, judge and state attorney general. In 1917, he was appointed to the federal judgeship in Hawai'i by President Woodrow Wilson.
Poindexter served six years as a judge. He had settled in the Islands, working as an attorney in private practice for a decade, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Poindexter the territory's eighth governor on March 1, 1934.
His first years in office were marked by the Depression, but he was able to develop Ke'ehi Lagoon as a seaplane base and also to expand the nearby airport.
Roosevelt had appointed Poindexter to a second term in 1938, and he served until World War II landed almost on his doorstep on Dec. 7, 1941. He was on the way to his office when a Navy anti-aircraft shell hit his driveway at Washington Place.
Later that same Sunday, Poindexter met with Army Gen. Walter Short, who told him the territory must be placed under martial law because the local Japanese population could not be trusted if there were an invasion.
Poindexter, after conferring with Roosevelt, grudgingly agreed and signed the declaration at 3:30 p.m. He would later say it was the hardest thing he had ever done. Civilian government ceased to exist for three years.
Poindexter's term expired in March 1942, and he returned to practicing law. He died in 1951.
