author
William N. (William Nevins) Armstrong
1835–1905
Best known for his vivid account of King Kalākaua’s 1881 world tour, this Hawaii-born writer moved easily between public service and travel writing. His work offers a rare insider’s view of the Hawaiian Kingdom in a time of major change.
1 Audiobook
Six prize Hawaiian stories of the Kilohana Art League
by Emma Louise Smith Dillingham, William N. (William Nevins) Armstrong, George Harrison De La Vergne, James W. (James Walter) Girvin
About the author
Born in Honolulu in 1835 to missionary parents, he was educated partly in New England and grew up alongside the future King Kalākaua at the Royal School in Hawaii. That early connection shaped much of his later life and helped place him close to the political world of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
He served the kingdom in several official roles, including Attorney General during Kalākaua’s reign, and later became known to many readers through Around the World with a King (1904). The book draws on his experience accompanying the king on a global journey in 1881 and remains his best-known work.
His writing is especially valued for the way it blends travel, politics, and firsthand observation. He died in 1905, leaving behind a record that still helps readers picture Hawaii’s monarchy and its international ambitions in the late nineteenth century.