Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was a Hawaiian competition swimmer who popularized the sport of surfing.
23 Facts About Duke Kahanamoku
2.
Duke Kahanamoku lived to see the territory's admission as a state, and became a United States citizen.
3.
Duke Kahanamoku was a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming, winning medals in 1912,1920 and 1924.
4.
Duke Kahanamoku worked as a law enforcement officer, an actor, a beach volleyball player, and a businessman.
5.
Duke Kahanamoku's brothers were Sargent, Samuel, David, William and Louis, all of whom participated in competitive aquatic sports.
6.
Duke Kahanamoku was named after his father, Duke Halapu Kahanamoku, who was christened by Bernice Pauahi Bishop in honor of Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, who was visiting Hawaii at the time.
7.
Duke Kahanamoku grew up with his siblings and 31 Paoa cousins.
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Johnny Weissmuller 8.
Duke Kahanamoku finished the 100 meters with a silver medal during the 1924 Olympics in Paris, with the gold going to Johnny Weissmuller and the bronze to Kahanamoku's brother, Samuel.
9.
Between Olympic competitions, and after retiring from the Olympics, Duke Kahanamoku traveled internationally to give swimming exhibitions.
10.
Duke Kahanamoku attracted people to surfing in mainland America first in 1912 while in Southern California.
11.
Duke Kahanamoku's surfing exhibition at Sydney, Australia's Freshwater Beach on December 24,1914, is widely regarded as a seminal event in the development of surfing in Australia.
12.
The board that Duke Kahanamoku built from a piece of pine from a local hardware store is retained by the Freshwater Surf Life Saving Club.
13.
Duke Kahanamoku made connections in this way with people who could further publicize the sport of surfing.
14.
Duke Kahanamoku was involved with the Los Angeles Athletic Club, acting as a lifeguard and competing in both swimming and water polo teams.
15.
Duke Kahanamoku was the first person to be inducted into both the Swimming Hall of Fame and the Surfing Hall of Fame.
16.
The Duke Kahanamoku Invitational Surfing Championships in Hawaii, the first major professional surfing contest event ever held in the huge surf on the North Shore of Oahu, was named in his honor.
17.
Duke Kahanamoku is a member of the US Olympic Hall of Fame.
18.
Later Duke Kahanamoku was elected to serve as the Sheriff of Honolulu, Hawaii from 1932 to 1961, completing 13 consecutive terms.
19.
Duke Kahanamoku built a home on Oahu named Shangri-la.
20.
In 1946, Kahanamoku was the pro forma defendant in the landmark Supreme Court case Duncan v Kahanamoku.
21.
Duke Kahanamoku was initiated, passed and raised to the degree of Master Mason in Hawaiian Lodge Masonic Lodge No 21 and was a Noble of the Shriners fraternal organization.
22.
Duke Kahanamoku died of a heart attack on January 22,1968, at age 77.
23.
On February 28,2015, a monument featuring a replica of Duke Kahanamoku's surfboard was unveiled at New Brighton beach, Christchurch, New Zealand in honor of the 100th anniversary of Duke Kahanamoku's visit to New Brighton.