Honolulu

Honolulu, Hawaii
CDP
Aerial view of downtown from Honolulu Harbor
Nickname(s): Crossroads of the Pacific, Sheltered Bay
Location in Honolulu County and the state of Hawaii
Coordinates: 21°18′32″N 157°49′34″W
Country	United States
State	Hawaii
County	Honolulu
Area
• CDP	105 sq mi (272.1 km2)
• Land	85.7 sq mi (222.0 km2)
• Water	19.3 sq mi (50.1 km2)
Elevation	0 ft (Sea Level 0 m)
Population (2000)
• CDP	371,657
• Estimate (July 2006)	377,357
• Metro	909,863
Time zone	Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (UTC-10)
Zip Code	96801-96825
Area code(s)	808
FIPS code	15-17000
GNIS feature ID	0366212

Honolulu is the capital city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is also the largest city in Hawaii and it has the most important harbor. It is on the south-east shore of the island of Oahu.

Etymology

Honolulu means "sheltered harbor" in the Hawaiian language. No one knows for sure when Honolulu was first settled or when the name was first used.

History

Honolulu harbor was called Kulolia before foreigners came. The first foreigner was Captain William Brown of the English ship Butterworth, in 1794. He named the harbor Fair Haven. Other foreign captains started calling it Brown's Harbor. The name Honolulu was used some time after that.

Honolulu quickly became the most important harbor of Hawaii. At that time, sandalwood was a big export. Honolulu was also an important supply point for whalers.

Kamehameha III made Honolulu the capital city of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1850. It was also the capital of the Republic of Hawaii and the Territory of Hawaii. It stayed the capital when Hawaii became a state in 1959.

Notable people

• Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986, died in Honolulu
• Bruno Mars, singer, was born in Honolulu
• Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States, was born in Honolulu
• Nicole Scherzinger, singer, was born in Honolulu
• Jason Momoa, Actor currently lives in Honolulu