John Smith Walker (1826 – May 29, 1893) was Minister of Finance of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and interim Attorney General of the Kingdom of Hawaii, under King

Kalākaua Kalākaua (David Laʻamea Kamananakapu Mahinulani Naloiaehuokalani Lumialani Kalākaua; November 16, 1836 – January 20, 1891), sometimes called The Merrie Monarch, was the last king and penultimate monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Kin ...

Early life

He was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. As a teenager, he relocated to the United States. He tried his hand at various trades, including gold mining, eventually settling in California, where he became engaged in the mercantile business. In 1854, he sailed for Hawaii, intending to return to California. He eventually worked for Hackfield & Co. in Honolulu, and then Thomas Spencer, and became successful with his own import and export business in the kingdom.

Cabinet minister

King Kalākaua appointed him Minister of Finance on November 7, 1874, during which he was a member of the House of Nobles in the legislature. The announcement cited Walker's business success in Hawaii as the factor in his being appointed. Within the next month, Walker publicly released "Statement of the Revenues and Expenditures of the Hawaiian Kingdom for eighteen years." In 1876, Walker left the cabinet to work for William G. Irwin. Along with

Zephaniah Swift Spalding Zephaniah Swift Spalding (September 2, 1837– June 19, 1927) was a veteran of the American Civil War, who was first sent to Hawaii on a clandestine mission for US Secretary of State . He later moved to Hawaii and made a fortune in the sugar plant ...

, Walker and Irwin organized William G. Irwin & Co. In 1890, Kalākaua once again named him Minister of Finance, as well as ad interim Attorney General until William Nevins Armstrong accepted the position. He remained Minister of Finance until 1882. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 1886 and named as Auditor-General. Appointed once again to the House of Nobles, he became President of the legislature, and once again in 1890–1893. During the

Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii The overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom was a ''coup d'état'' against Queen Liliʻuokalani, which took place on January 17, 1893, on the island of Oahu and led by the Committee of Safety (Hawaii), Committee of Safety, composed of seven foreign ...

, Walker was the one charged with delivering the message to

Liliʻuokalani Liliʻuokalani (; Lydia Liliʻu Loloku Walania Kamakaʻeha; September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was the only queen regnant and the last sovereign monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Haw ...

that her abdication was expected by the

Provisional Government of Hawaii The Provisional Government of Hawaii (abbr.: P.G.; Hawaiian: ''Aupuni Kūikawā o Hawaiʻi'') was proclaimed after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom on January 17, 1893, by the 13-member Committee of Safety under the leadership of its ch ...

Personal life

In 1866, he married Jane McIntyre of Hawaii, she also being of Scottish ancestry. The couple had five sons and five daughters. The Walker family remained friends with the Queen, and she commented in her book ''Hawaii's Story'', that Walker's 1893 death within 4 months of the kingdom's overthrow was the result of "the treatment he received from the hands of the revolutionists."

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * :"A List of All the Cabinet Ministers Who Have Held Office in the Hawaiian Kingdom" * :Includes a list of Attorneys General for the Kingdom of Hawaii, their salaries and budgets {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, J. S. 1826 births 1893 deaths Hawaiian Kingdom politicians Hawaiian Kingdom Attorneys General Hawaiian Kingdom Finance Ministers Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Nobles Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom Privy Council Businesspeople from Hawaii National Reform Party (Hawaii) politicians 19th-century American businesspeople