Robert Grimes Davis

Biography

Robert Grimes Davis was born in 1819 and devoted much of his life to the law, serving as a jurist and interpreter in the Hawaiian government. He balanced the demands of Hawaiian custom with the requirements of an increasingly complex constitutional system.

His clear-eyed judgment and cultural fluency helped guide important decisions, and his name is still spoken with respect at Oʻahu Cemetery, where he lies among those who helped shape the kingdom’s legal foundation.