U.S. House of Representatives
Territorial delegates The
Territory of Hawaii was an
organized incorporated territory of the United States formed by the
Hawaiian Organic Act on April 30, 1900, following the
annexation of Hawaii. The territory initially consisted of the
Hawaiian Islands, although the
Palmyra Atoll was separated from Hawaii when it was admitted into the Union. The territorial
delegates were elected to two-year terms from the
at-large congressional district in the Hawaii Territory. Delegates were allowed to serve on committees, debate, and submit legislation, but were not permitted to vote on bills. The first delegate,
Robert William Wilcox, took office on December 15, 1900, and the last delegate,
John A. Burns, left office on August 21, 1959, succeeded on the same day by representative
Daniel Inouye. Delegates only served in the House of Representatives, as there was no representation in the Senate until Hawaii became a state.
Representatives from the State of Hawaii Members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years by popular vote within a congressional district. From in the
86th Congress through the
91st Congress, both of Hawaii's representatives were elected from
Hawaii's at-large congressional district, but in 1969, the Hawaii legislature passed a law creating Hawaii's
first and
second congressional district, which elected representatives to the
92nd Congress. The representatives from the two new districts,
Patsy Mink and
Spark Matsunaga, were also the last two representatives of the seats in the at-large district. Every ten years, the number of seats in the House apportioned to every state is recalculated based on the state's population as determined by the
United States census. Hawaii had one seat until the
1960 United States census allotted Hawaii a second seat, which was first filled by
Thomas Gill in the
1962 House elections. ==See also==