Wallace Rider Farrington (May 3, 1871 – October 6, 1933) was an American journalist who served as the sixth

Territorial Governor of Hawaii The governor of Hawaii ( haw, Ke Kiaʻaina o Hawaiʻi) is the head of government of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Constitution of Hawaii, Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 thro ...

, serving from 1921 to 1929. Prior to his term, he was editor of ''

The Honolulu Advertiser ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in the American state of Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and In ...

'' and '' Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' newspapers.

Life

Farrington was born in Orono,

Penobscot County, Maine Penobscot County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine, named for the Penobscot Nation on Wabanakik. As of the 2020 census, the population was 152,199. Its county seat is Bangor. The county was established on February 15, 1816, from part of ...

on May 3, 1871. He graduated the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

in 1891. An avid traveler, he found himself in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

in 1894 and was persuaded to stay to become the editor of the ''Honolulu Advertiser''. He left the newspaper after three years of service to become the editor of the ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin''. Interested in local politics, he was elected

Mayor of Honolulu The mayor of Honolulu is the chief executive officer of the City and County of Honolulu. An office established in 1900 and modified in 1907, the mayor of Honolulu is elected by universal suffrage of residents of Honolulu to no more than two four ...

. In 1915, Farrington organized the

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

Ad Club. One of his invited guest speakers was

Warren Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

, a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Senator from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Farrington introduced Harding as "the future

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

." Harding replied that if Farrington's prediction came true, he would name Farrington governor of the

Territory of Hawaii The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory ( Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 30, 1900, until August 21, 1959, when most of its territory, excluding ...

. Three months after taking office as U.S. President in 1921, Harding fulfilled his promise, appointing Farrington as the Territorial Governor of Hawaii. His tenure was controversial, as he followed the previous Governor in favouring the Whites. Farrington served as a

through 1929 when he retired from public life. Suffering from heart disease, he died on October 6, 1933. Farrington was memorialized with the dedication of Wallace Rider Farrington High School in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu. The school adopted ''The Governors'' as its nickname and mascot, in honor of the school's namesake. Also named after him are Farrington Street in lower

Manoa Mānoa (, ) is a valley and a residential neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. The neighborhood is approximately three miles (5 km) east and inland from downtown Honolulu and less than a mile (1600 m) from Ala Moana and Waikiki at . Neighbo ...

Valley, Farrington Highway which stretches from

Pearl City Pearl City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Ewa District and City & County of Honolulu on the Island of Oahu. As of the 2010 Census, the CDP had a total population of 47,698. Pearl City is located ...

to the leeward coast of

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

, and Farrington Hall (demolished in the 1970s) at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, Manoa where he served as chairman of the

Board of Regents from 1914 to 1920.

Family

OahuCemetery-WallaceRiderFarrington-gravemarker

Farrington was the father of Joseph Rider Farrington, a member of the Senate of the Territory of Hawaii and the territory's delegate to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

. Joseph Farrington died in office and was succeeded by his wife,

Mary Elizabeth Pruett Farrington Mary Elizabeth Pruett Farrington (May 30, 1898 – July 21, 1984), more commonly known as Elizabeth P. Farrington, was publisher of the ''Honolulu Star-Bulletin'' and an American politician who served as delegate to the United States Congre ...

, who carried on the Farrington name. He was buried in

Oahu Cemetery The Oahu Cemetery is the resting place of many notable early residents of the Honolulu area. They range from missionaries and politicians to sports pioneers and philosophers. Over time it was expanded to become an area known as the Nuuanu Cemete ...

References

Honoluluadvertiser.com
Posted 2006-07-02; Accessed 2011-04-06 *Coffman, Tom. ''The Island Edge of America: A Political History of Hawaii''. University of Hawaii Press, 2003. *Pukui, Mary Kawena and Samuel Elbert. ''Place Names of Hawaii.'' UH Press, 1974.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farrington, Wallace Rider 1871 births 1933 deaths Governors of the Territory of Hawaii American newspaper publishers (people) People from Orono, Maine Hawaii Republicans American Congregationalists University of Maine alumni Burials at Oahu Cemetery