--- description: The swimming and surfing star was born on Aug. 24, 1890 title: How Duke Kahanamoku Saved Lives With His Surfboard image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7238a9fd9d2594d1/69886091428a9e32e3ccec4b/duke.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How Duke Kahanamoku Saved Lives With His Surfboard ## Video: The Ultras: Alison Teal [Watch (HLS stream): The Ultras: Alison Teal](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ExXw3Q1i.m3u8) (2:43)  _Published 2015-04-06. Meet The Female Indiana Jones._  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Aug 24, 2015 2:10 PM CUT  Hawaiian swimming champion Duke Kahanamoku working out in preparation for the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles Hawaiian swimming champion Duke Kahanamoku working out in preparation for the 1932 Olympics in Los AngelesUnderwood Archives / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Aug 24, 2015 2:10 PM CUT Monday marks what would have been the 125th birthday of the late Duke Kahanamoku, who during his lifetime was an Olympic swimmer and Hawaiian public official. Kahanamoku is [best known](http://time.com/4007604/duke-kahanamoku/ "undefined") today for boosting surfing’s popularity and introducing the sport to many regions around the world. But Kahanamoku’s prowess with a surfboard is worth remembering for more reasons than mere athletic glory. And, as TIME reported in 1925, Kahanamoku had a chance to prove that point one day in Laguna Beach, Calif.: --- > “” --- In his 1968 [obituary](http://time.com/vault/issue/1968-02-02/page/65/ "undefined"), the rescue of the _Thelma_ passengers was credited with helping Kahanamoku recapture the fame of his Olympic days, eventually leading him to his post as sheriff of Honolulu. But, even as he grew older and his role on the shore grew larger, he never stopped surfing. “To the last,” the obituary concluded, “he was a symbol of the islands, surfing, swimming, and appearing as the 50th state’s official greeter.” **_Read the full 1925 story, here in the TIME Vault:_** [Duke](http://time.com/vault/issue/1925-06-29/page/31/ "undefined") ### Hawaii Melting Pot, 1945  Caption from LIFE. Mary Lou Parker, 4, plays with Letty Mai Pang, 5, a Chinese \[schoolmate\], in the playground of a polyracial Honolulu school. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A young girl dances in a hula skirt. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A fishing net hangs out to dry in front of a fisherman's house, while a young child sits underneath. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A plantation worker comes home and washes off his boots after a day's work. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  An elderly Japanese man walks toward his house. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Children with an American flag hang out on a front porch. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Japanese boys jump from a sea wall while playing soldiers in the American army. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A fisherman sits near fishing nets by the sea. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. At dawn Hawaiians put out to sea to pull in their fish nets. By law, their boat flies the American flag at bow. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  An elderly man sits in the sun in Hawaii. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A fisherman with a spear prepares to make a catch. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Clemon Apeahi is Hawaiian. Rated as shiftless husbands, many Hawaiian men remain bachelors. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A portrait of two farmers in Hawaii. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A worker on the Dole plantation carries an armload of pineapples. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A worker on the Dole plantation gathers ripe pineapples. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Plant sprayers at the Dole Plantation in Hawaii pose for a portrait. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Eight University of Hawaii students are chosen by the student body to serve as Princesses and Queen in the annual May Day ceremony held at the University. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Caucasian-Hawaiian (Portuguese, Irish, Hawaiian) is Barbara Sylva, 20, Hawaii senator's daughter. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Women dressed in hula skirts dance onstage. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Asiatic-Caucasian (Korean, Spanish, Engish) is Lava Pak, 23, an Army translator, named for an eruption. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Two Hawaiian girls walk together along the shore. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Waikiki tomboys, under a banyon on beach are (from left) Marion Woolsley, 14, Chinese-Hawaiian-English; Patricia Cameron, 16, Portuguese-Scotch-Irish; Beatrice Clarke, 16, Hawaiian-Chinese-German. Canoes are stored under roots. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A couple in Hawaii poses for a portrait against a fake landscape backdrop. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  A man and woman dance together at the Rainbow Club U.S.O., Hawaii. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Several pairs dance at the Rainbow Club U.S.O., Hawaii. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Indiana Quaker, Sam Lindley, married a Chinese Quaker and has two fair haired girls, Renie and Renda. He raises goats and works as librarian at the University of Hawaii. He studies Chinese, wants to visit China. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Chinese family includes elder Youngs, 78 and 71, and son, John, a painter. Chinese brought few wives from China because their bound feet were rated useless on plantations. Exclusion Act, which was repealed in 1943, shut out Chinese in 1900. Eliot Elisofon—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images _Read next:_ [_Beyond The Waves: An Intimate Look at the Life of Surfer John John Florence_](http://time.com/3763990/beyond-the-waves-an-intimate-look-at-the-life-of-surfer-john-john-florence/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Download TIME’s mobile app for iOS to have your world explained wherever you go_](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/time-mobile/id328218429 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4007897/duke-kahanamoku-surf-hero-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4007897/duke-kahanamoku-surf-hero-history/"},"headline":"How Duke Kahanamoku Saved Lives With His Surfboard","datePublished":"2015-08-24T14:10:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:01:57.707Z","description":"The swimming and surfing star was born on Aug. 24, 1890","url":"https://time.com/4007897/duke-kahanamoku-surf-hero-history/","keywords":["People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7238a9fd9d2594d1/69886091428a9e32e3ccec4b/duke.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7238a9fd9d2594d1/69886091428a9e32e3ccec4b/duke.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Duke Kahanamoku","caption":"Swimming Star Duke Kahanamoku","creditText":"Underwood Archives / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4007897/duke-kahanamoku-surf-hero-history/","name":"How Duke Kahanamoku Saved Lives With His Surfboard"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Ultras: Alison Teal","description":"Meet The Female Indiana Jones.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ExXw3Q1i/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-04-06T19:21:34.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ExXw3Q1i.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4007897/duke-kahanamoku-surf-hero-history/","duration":"PT2M43S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4007897/duke-kahanamoku-surf-hero-history/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```