Interesting Pacific Islanders and Amazing Asians
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Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month was first celebrated in May of 1992, though for 13 years prior the first 10 days of May were celebrated.
This heritage month covers the geographical areas of the continent of Asia, as well as Oceania and other Pacific Islands, though it doesn't include people of European descent from these areas. Between these two regions, one can find well over half the world's population. In 2023, about 36% of all US immigration was from either Asia or Oceania.
With so many people descended from these groups, or immigrating in every year, there's some amazing figures.
Chien-Shiung Wu
Chien-Shiung Wu is a Chinese woman known for her work in nuclear physics. She was part of the Manhattan Project, and her work helped her colleagues win the noble peace prize in 1957.
Wu was born in 1912 in the providence of Jiangsu. She moved to America in 1936 to earn her PhD at the University of Michigan, though she ended up doing so at the University of California Berkeley for its more progressive gender policies.
Wu's dissertation was largely about radiation, including the fission of uranium, which is a famous example of nuclear energy creation. This research ended up being vital in the creation of nuclear bombs during WWII, though she later expressed disapproval over the project. Wu died in February of 1997, at the age of 84.
Larry Itliong
Larry Itliong is a Filipino man known for his work in labor strikes and unions. He is known most famously for the Delano Grape Strike, which aimed to prevent the abuse of farm workers.
Itliong was born in the province of Pangasinan, Philippines—which was at the time a territory of the US—in October of 1913. He moved to the US in 1928 and took part in his first strike two years later. Itliong was involved in the founding of the Cannery Workers and Farm Laborers Union, which is the first Filipino-run union, the 1948 asparagus strike, the founding of the Filipino Farm Labor Union in Stockton, California, and the Delano Grape Strike. He also helped plan a strike against Safeway supermarkets in 1974.
Throughout his life, Itliong was heavily involved in local Filipino organizations, serving as secretary and later president of multiple. Itliong died in 1977 to Lou Gehrig's disease, also known as ALS.
Kalpana Chawla
Kalpana Chawla is an Indian-American women know for being the first Indian woman in space. She is one of the seven astronauts that died in the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Chawla was born in Haryana, India, in 1962. From a young age, she was interested in aerospace engineering, eventually studying it at Punjab Engineering College in Chandigarh. As India did not at the time have further education in aerospace engineering, she moved to the US and earned her Masters at the University of Texas at Arlington, and her PhD at the University of Colorado Boulder. It was here where she first expressed interest in becoming an astronaut. In 1994, Chawla was announced as part of the NASA Astronaut Group 15. Her first space mission was in 1997, on the Space Shuttle Columbia. On the flight, she studied immiscibles—liquids that do not mix together, such as water and oil.
In 2000, Chawla was selected for a second flight on the Space Shuttle Columbia, though it was delayed for over two years. The shuttle eventually launched on January 16th, 2003, and while in orbit, she studied space agriculture as well as low gravity phenomena regarding things such as combustion and mist. During re-entry on February 1st, the shuttle began to disintegrate and killed all seven crew members. Chawla received many posthumous awards and honors, such as the naming of several astronomical objects in her honor, and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Katherine Luzuriaga
Katherine Luzuriaga is a physician and pediatric immunologist primarily known for her research into the effects of viruses on children, as well as her work in HIV/AIDS.
Luzuriaga was born in Bacolod, the Philippines. Her parents acted as inspiration to become a doctor. At MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biochemistry.
In 2012, Luzuriaga become the director of the University of Massachusetts’ Center for Clinical and Translational science. In 2013, she contributed to a trial that cured a newborn of AIDS. In 2021 and 2022, she worked on Covid-19 vaccination.
Today, Luzuriaga is still employed at the University of Massachusetts.
Duke Kahanamoku
Duke Kahanamoku is a Hawaiian swimmer and lifeguard, known for popularizing surfing and winning 5 Olympic medals in swimming.
Kahanamoku was born in Honolulu, 1890. At the time, the kingdom of Hawaii had not yet been overthrown. Kahanamoku was a native Hawaiian and his family was considered low-ranking nobility.
Throughout his early years, Kahanamoku swam regularly, breaking the 100-m freestyle record at the age of 21. He participated in the 1912, 1920, and 1924 Olympics, earning medals at all three, and was an alternate for water polo in the 1932 Olympics.
After retiring from his Olympic career, Kahanamoku traveled around the world to give swimming exhibitions. At these exhibitions, he also demonstrated surfing, popularizing the sport internationally. After WWII, he featured in over 15 movies.
In 1968, Kahanamoku died of a heart attack at the age of 77. He was buried at sea.
Incredible people come from all over world, and some of them are recognized here. To learn more, try reading library books, such as "Asian American histories of the United States", "Smithsonian Asian Pacific American history, art, and culture in 101 objects", and "A Brief History of Indonesia : Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis : The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation".
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