W. D. (William Drake) Westervelt

Born in 1849 and active well into the early 20th century, W. D. Westervelt wrote extensively about Hawaiian history, folklore, and mythology. He is especially remembered for books such as Legends of Maui, Legends of Old Honolulu, Legends of Gods and Ghosts, and Hawaiian Legends of Volcanoes.

Westervelt drew on earlier Hawaiian-language sources and the work of scholars including David Malo, Samuel Kamakau, and Abraham Fornander. Rather than writing academic studies, he presented these traditions in a readable, story-driven style that introduced many English-language readers to Hawaiian legendary history.

Alongside his writing, he was also known as an educator and clergyman. Today his work remains a familiar gateway into Hawaiian storytelling, even as modern readers may also look beyond it to Native Hawaiian voices and scholarship for deeper cultural context.