Hawaii

Hawaii is the most recent addition to the United States, becoming a state on Aug. 21, 1959. Two things seem to stand out about this state comprised of eight islands: It’s a tourism paradise, and it was attacked by the Japanese in 1941.

The islands’ history dates back to around 1,500 years ago when Polynesians sailed from the Marquesas Islands. Around 1000 A.D., Tahitians arrived, along with their belief in God and the practice of the kapu system, a hierarchical social order similar to caste in Hindu culture.

In 1778, British Capt. James Cook became the first documented westerner to land on Hawaii. Cook named the chain the “Sandwich Islands” in honor of John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, one of his voyage's patrons.

In 1791, a royal dynasty was established under King Kamehameha the Great. Between Cook’s arrival and 1820, more than half of the Hawaiian population died from wars, disease or famine.

In 1898, Hawaii became a U.S. territory after the Americans staged a coup and replaced Queen Liliuokalani with a committee representing the Republic of Hawaii.

Hawaii’s economic pillar is tourism, which generates most jobs on the state’s islands. Among the islands, the state boasts ocean, beaches, volcanoes and other mountains. The islands’ daytime temperatures average 85 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer and 78 F in the winter.

On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan conducted a military air strike on Pearl Harbor, drawing the U.S. into World War II. About 2,400 Americans died in the attack, and the U.S. Navy lost 12 ships that sank or were beached, and at least 160 aircraft.

Honolulu-born Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the U.S. in 2008 and 2012.