Statehood Day or Admission Day is a legal holiday in the state of
Hawaii in the
United States. It is celebrated annually on the third Friday in August to commemorate the anniversary of the state's 1959
admission to the Union. It was first celebrated in 1969.[1]
Statehood bills for Hawaii were introduced into the
U.S. Congress as early as 1919 by
Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole, the non-voting delegate sent by the
Territory of Hawaii to the
U.S. Congress. Additional bills were introduced in 1935, 1947 and 1950. In 1959, the U.S. Congress approved the statehood bill, the
Hawaii Admission Act. This was followed by a
referendum in which Hawaiian residents voted 94% in support of statehood (the ballot question was: "Shall Hawaii immediately be admitted into the Union as a state?"), and on August 21, 1959 (the third Friday in August), President
Dwight D. Eisenhower signed a proclamation making Hawaii the 50th state.
Wording of a Hawaii Senate resolution to organize a celebration for Admission Day 2003. Includes many details of the history of the admission of Hawai'i into the Union.
(federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific
racial/ethnic group or
sexual minority, (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) =
Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies