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Albert Kūnuiākea

politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Republic of Hawaii (1851-1903)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 7, 2026
Entity authorityQ55590142
Source-derived summary

Albert Kūkaʻilimoku Kūnuiākea (June 19, 1851 – March 10, 1903) was the illegitimate son of King Kamehameha III and his mistress Jane Lahilahi. He served as a politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Republic of Hawaii. He later was baptized into the Anglican Church of Hawaii with the name Albert Fredrick Kunuiakea Oiwiaulani Koenaokalani.

Early life and family

Kūnuiākea was born on June 19, 1851, at his mother's residence at Kuaihelani, on Beretania Street, Honolulu, where the Central Union Church now stands.

He and his twin brother were born to King Kamehameha III and his mistress Jane Lahilahi.

Lahilahi was married to Joshua Kaʻeo by whom she had a son named Peter Kaʻeo, his older half-brother. From his mother's family, he was the grandson of John Young, the British advisor of Kamehameha I, and Kaʻōanaʻeha, the daughter of Kamehameha I's brother Keliʻimaikaʻi.

In the Hawaiian language, his name Kūnuiākea means "Kū the Supreme One" while his second name Kūkaʻilimoku means "Kū the Snatcher of Land" and honor the war god Kū, the patron deity of his grandfather King Kamehameha I who conquered and unified the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810.

Sources are disputed on the name and exact fate of his twin brother. Under the name Kīwalaʻō, it was claimed he was taken by Kamehameha III and his wife Queen Kalama to raise while Kūnuiākea was brought back to his maternal family to be reared.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Albert Kūnuiākea” as politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Republic of Hawaii (1851-1903). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1851, 1903, 1810—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1851-06-19. The account is most persuasive where Albert, Kūnuiākea and politician can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Republic of Hawaii (1851-1903). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q55590142. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1851, 1903 and 1810.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Albert Kūnuiākea”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Albert Kūnuiākea primary sources, Albert Kūnuiākea archive and Albert research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Albert Kūnuiākea”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Albert Kūnuiākea” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.