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Each of the islands in the Hawaiian archipelago is actually the top of an underwater volcano. The oldest of the seven major islands (formed some 70 million years ago) is Kaua’i; the youngest Hawai’i, where the active Kīlauea volcano adds more landmass daily. A new island, Lō’ihi, is forming far below the ocean’s surface, southeast of Hawai’i.

Scholars believe that Marquesan voyagers first came to Hawai’i as early as the 4th century, with Tahitians arriving later, in the 13th. It was these two great waves of migration by skilled Polynesian seafarers that first populated the Hawaiian islands.

The landing of British explorer Captain James Cook at Kealakekua Bay on the island of Hawai’i in 1778 is generally acknowledged to be the first time Hawaiians had contact with westerners. There is evidence that Spanish ships sailed into island waters in the 16th century, but there are no records of any contact being made with the islanders.

An accomplished warrior chief from the island of Hawai’i, Kamehameha I waged war to conquer O’ahu and Maui, then forced the island of Kaua’i to cede to his dominion. Thus the islands were unified into the Kingdom of Hawai’i in 1809.

April 19, 1820 is a momentous (some would say notorious) date, when the first American missionaries arrived in Hawai’i. The first group was made up of 23 New England Congregationalists, and they landed at Kailua on Hawai’i. Over the next 20 years, many more Christian missionaries would follow, taking up residence on all the major islands.

Beginning in the mid-1800s, the American businessmen who first set up sugar cane production on the Hawaiian islands started importing contract laborers to work the plantations. Chinese workers were followed by Portuguese, Japanese, Latin American, Korean, and Filipino immigrants. The immigration of those groups led to the diverse ethnic mix found in the islands today.

On January 17, 1893, Hawai’i’s last queen, Lili’uokalani, was removed from her throne and placed under house arrest in ’Iolani Palace. The coup was the work of American businessmen based in Hawai’i, though it was not supported by U.S. President Grover Cleveland, a Democrat. He was unable to persuade the provisional government, led by Republican Sanford P. Dole, to restore the monarchy.

It was a quiet, overcast Sunday morning when Japanese warplanes attacked the U.S. fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor. This shocking and stunning attack on December 7, 1941 marked the official entry of the United States into World War II.

They came first by ship and then by airplane, and by the late 1950s tourists were coming in increasing numbers, seeking the warmth and exotic beauty of Hawai’i, a place within easy reach of the West Coast of the U.S. mainland. Today, the islands host more than seven million visitors each year, arriving from every corner of the globe.

Following several failed attempts, Hawai’i became the 50th state in the Union on August 21, 1959. William F. Quinn and James K. Kealoha were sworn in as the first elected governor and lieutenant governor of the new state. The occasion is marked each year by a state holiday, Admission Day, celebrated on the third Friday in August.