House of Kalākaua
Royal family of Hawaiʻi
The House of Kalākaua, or Kalākaua Dynasty, also known as the Keawe-a-Heulu line, was the reigning family of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi under King Kalākaua and Queen Liliʻuokalani. They assumed power after the last king of the House of Kamehameha, Lunalilo, died without designating an heir, leading to the election of Kalākaua and provoking the Honolulu Courthouse riot. The dynasty lost power with the overthrow of Liliʻuokalani and the end of the Kingdom in 1893. Liliʻuokalani died in 1917, leaving only cousins as heirs.
The House of Kalākaua was descended from chiefs on the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui, and Kauaʻi. The torch that burns at midday symbolizes the dynasty, based on the sacred kapu Kalākaua's ancestor High Chief Iwikauikaua.
Origin
The dynasty was founded by Kalākaua when he ascended the Hawaiian Kingdom throne in 1874 and included his brothers and sisters who were children of Analea Keohokālole (1816–1869) and Caesar Kaluaiku Kapaʻakea (1815–1866).
The family was of the aliʻi class of the Hawaiian nobility and were collateral relations of the House of Kamehameha, sharing common descent from the early 18th-century aliʻi nui (supreme monarch) Keaweʻīkekahialiʻiokamoku. The family traces their descent from Keaweaheulu and Kameʻeiamoku, two of the five royal counselors of King Kamehameha I during his conquest of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Kameʻeiamoku, the grandfather of both Keohokālole and Kapaʻakea, was depicted, along with his royal twin Kamanawa, on the Hawaiian coat of arms.
The public source identifies “House of Kalākaua” as royal family of Hawaiʻi. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around House, Kalākaua and Royal.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “House of Kalākaua”, the useful work is to connect “royal family of Hawaiʻi” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3324355. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1893, 1917, 1874 and 1816.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “House of Kalākaua”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow House of Kalākaua primary sources, House of Kalākaua archive and House research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “House of Kalākaua”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “House of Kalākaua” 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.