16 Facts About Chang Apana

Chang Apana was a Chinese-Hawaiian member of the Honolulu Police Department, first as an officer, then as a detective.

Chang Apana was acknowledged by Earl Derr Biggers as the inspiration for his fictional Chinese American detective character, Charlie Chan.

Chang Apana is a Hawaiianized version of the Chinese name Ah Ping.

Chang Apana's family moved back to China when he was 3, but Chang returned at the age of 10 to live with his uncle in Waipio.

Chang Apana never learned to read, relying on his family to read newspapers and documents for him.

Three years later, Chang Apana started working for the Hawaii Humane Society, which at the time was part of the police department on the island.

The Humane Society was founded by Helen Kinau Wilder, the owner of the horses that Chang Apana had handled as a paniolo.

In 1898, Chang Apana joined the Honolulu Police Department, where he was assigned to patrol Chinatown.

Chang Apana helped round up people infected with leprosy and send them to a leper colony on the island of Molokai.

Chang Apana met actor Warner Oland, who portrayed Charlie Chan, when The Black Camel was filmed in Hawaii.

Chang Apana briefly worked as a watchman at the Hawaiian Trust building.

On December 2,1933, Chang Apana was admitted to Queen's Hospital after a serious month-long illness.

Chang Apana is buried at the Manoa Chinese Cemetery in Honolulu.

Chang Apana's law enforcement career was an influence on other fictional works other than Charlie Chan.

Collins included fictionalized depictions of several historical figures, including Chang Apana, who was an active-duty detective at the time of the Massie case.

Chang Apana was featured in the seventh episode of the ninth season of the remake of Hawaii Five-O, entitled "Pua A'e La Ka Uwahi O Ka Moe", which highlighted some of Chang Apana's stories and his successes in solving cases.