Tuesday is Prince Kuhio Day Holiday

Tuesday, March 26, is Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day, a Hawaii state holiday better known as Prince Kuhio Day.

State government offices will be closed for the day including schools, universities and libraries.

County offices will also be closed, although the Hilo Municipal Golf Course and county transfer stations will be open.

Since it is not a federal holiday, federal government offices and the post office will operate under normal hours.

The holiday marks the birthday of Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, who was a prince in the House of Kalakaua when the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown in 1893.

Kuhio later became a territorial delegate to the US Congress where he authored the first statehood bill in 1919. He also won passage of the 1920 Hawaiian Homes Act which created the Hawaiian Homes Commission and set aside more than 200,000 acres for Hawaiian homesteaders.

The holiday is one of only two in the US honoring royalty. The other is King Kamehameha I Day, which is observed on June 11.