John Young

John Young ( 1742 – 17 December 1835) was a British subject who became an important military advisor to Kamehameha I during the formation of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He was left behind by Simon Metcalfe, captain of the American ship Eleanora, and along with a Welshman Isaac Davis, became a friend and advisor to Kamehameha. Young brought knowledge of naval and land battle strategies to Kamehameha, and became a strong voice on affairs of state for the Hawaiian Kingdom, playing a major role during Hawaii's first contacts with the European powers. He spent the rest of his life in Hawaii. Between 1802 and 1812, Young ruled as Royal Governor of Hawaii Island while Kamehameha was away on other islands. He organized the construction of the fort at Honolulu Harbor. The Hawaiians gave him the name Olohana based on Young's typical command "All hands (on deck)".

Life According to his tombstone, he was born in 1742 in Crosby, Lancashire, England. Other sources give his birth as 17 March 1744. His father was Robert Young, also from Crosby, and mother Grace. He had two brothers: Peter and James. After his death, two families from Massachusetts and Connecticut claimed that Young was American and a member of their family, but all contemporary sources seem to indicate he was British.

Young served as boatswain on the Eleanora, an American ship captained by Simon Metcalfe, engaged in the maritime fur trade between the Pacific Northwest and China. Sailing from Cape Cod in 1789, the Eleanora put in at Kealakekua Bay on the island of Hawaii in February 1790. In March, Young went ashore to investigate the disappearance of the Eleanora'''s companion ship, the , under Thomas Humphrey Metcalfe, and was detained because Kamehameha did not want Metcalfe to learn that his own forces had attacked her. Metcalfe waited two days, but eventually sailed without Young. It was there that he met Isaac Davis, a Welshman who was the only surviving member of Fair Americans crew.

In battles such as the Battle of Nuʻuanu, when Kamehameha's army conquered Oahu, Young was in charge of the cannon. He is credited with firing the shot that put an end to Kaʻiana, who had seceded from the invading army en route and joined Kalanikūpule, king of Oahu and Maui. At the close of this contest, when Kamehameha was called back to Hawaii island to suppress the rebellion of Namakeha, Young was left on Oahu to adjust the new regime's affairs, then with a number of foreigners who also joined Kamehameha at Hawaii island. Beginning about 1800 or 1802, he was appointed as the Royal Governor of Hawaii island after chief Mokuhia, whom Kamehameha had picked, was murdered by a rival. This included his superintendency of tax gatherings when he returned to Kawaihae.

Young acted as interpreter for many English-speaking visitors, and sowed the seeds of Christianity in Hawaii. When Captain Vancouver visited the island during the Vancouver Expedition in 1793, he offered to take Young and Davis back to Britain. But they were content with their island life and refused the offer. Naturalist Archibald Menzies left seeds and plants such as citrus fruit in his care. He helped mediate a treaty with Britain in 1794, and coordinated the building of the first large European-style ships.

In 1803, Richard Cleveland, of the American ship Lelia Byrd'', left a mare with foal with Young in Kawaihae. This was the first horse ever seen in the islands, and led to the establishment of Parker Ranch. He took the first horses and cattle to Honolulu in 1809.

Young built the first European-style house on the island of Hawaii, and its ruins are still at the Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site near Kawaihae. It was made of stone and Young had no tools but a hatchet and a wooden trowel. He made the door with a hatchet, hewing it out of a koa tree slab. He whitewashed the house with lime made from white coral fished from the sea.

Lucy Goodale Thurston, in her story of her life as a missionary in Hawaii, described Young:

He was one of the few close friends at Kamehameha's side when he died in 1819 at Kamakahonu.

About 1805, Kamehameha's niece, Kaōanāeha, his favourite brother's daughter, became Young's second wife. This marriage brought him increased recognition and prestige. At the Royal Mausoleum, on a flat, grey stone which covers his grave, is the following inscription:

In popular culture

Young is played in the 2025 series Chief of War by Dutch actor Benjamin Hoetjes.