Dr. Judd, Hawaii's Friend: A Biography of Gerrit Parmele Judd (1803–1873)

Dr. Gerrit Parmele Judd, a controversial figure, deeply loved and at the same time bitterly hated, directed almost single-handed the destiny of the Hawaiian Kingdom during one of its most critical and colorful epochs. Born of Yankee ancestry on the New York frontier, he came to Hawaii in 1828 as a missionary physician. In 1842 he left the mission and entered the Hawaiian government. Holding various offices, he was in fact prime minister of Hawaii for almost twelve years of storm and crisis during which time the Islands became enmeshed in the rival expansionist ambitions of England, France, and the United States. In 1849-1850, accompanied by two Hawaiian princes, he undertook a diplomatic journey to London, Paris, and Washington, during which he encountered such figures as Lord Palmerston, Prince Albert, Louis Napoleon, and Zachary Taylor. After he left office in 1853 he was instrumental in developing Hawaii's sugar industry and in exploiting the profitable guano islands to the south.