Farrington was born in
Orono on May 3, 1871. He graduated the
University of Maine in 1891. An avid traveler, he found himself in
Honolulu, Hawaii in 1894 and was persuaded to stay to become the editor of the
Honolulu Advertiser. He left the newspaper after three years of service to become the editor of the
Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Interested in local politics, he was elected
Mayor of Honolulu. In 1915, Farrington organized the
Honolulu Ad Club. One of his invited guest speakers was
Warren Harding, a
Republican Senator from
Ohio. Farrington introduced Harding as "the future
president of the United States." Harding replied that if Farrington's prediction came true, he would name Farrington governor of the
Territory of Hawaii. Three months after taking office as U.S. President in 1921, Harding fulfilled his promise, appointing Farrington as the Territorial Governor of Hawaii. His tenure was controversial, as he followed the previous Governor in favouring the Whites. Farrington served as a
Republican through 1929 when he retired from public life. Suffering from
heart disease, he died on October 6, 1933. Farrington was memorialized with the dedication of
Wallace Rider Farrington High School in the historic Kalihi district of Honolulu. The school adopted
The Governors as its nickname and mascot, in honor of the school's namesake. Also named after him are Farrington Street in lower
Manoa Valley,
Farrington Highway which stretches from
Pearl City to the leeward coast of
Oahu, and Farrington Hall (demolished in the 1970s) at the
University of Hawaii, Manoa where he served as chairman of the
University of Hawaii Board of Regents from 1914 to 1920. ==Family==