Duke kahanamoku biography marriages and divorces

Duke Paoa Kahinu Mokoe Hulikohola Kahanamoku was born on August 24, 1890, in Honolulu, Hawaii, just a few months before King David Kalakaua's death, when political tension was taking over the country's capital.

Kahanamoku, nicknamed "The Duke" and "The Big Kahuna," is considered the father of modern surfing.

The Hawaiian won five Olympic medals as a swimmer but also showed off in the movie industry, politics, and business life.

Duke had five brothers and three sisters. His father was a policeman, and his mother was a religious woman.

In his first years, Duke impressed everyone with his swimming skills and rapidly started winning competitions to become the ultimate Hawaiian waterman.

By the end of the 19th century, foreign missionaries had almost "erased" surfing - or the act of riding waves - from the Hawaiian Islands.

Only a handful of locals would hit the Waikiki rollers for a few rides.

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