
Marine Corps Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, commissioned; Marine Corps in Hawai`i consolidated to form Marine Corps Base Hawai`i, headquartered at Kaneohe Bay.
Immigration and Naturalization Act goes into effect, thereby making some 35,000 resident aliens of Hawai`i eligible for naturalization as U.S. citizens.
Walter-McCarren Act grants Issei (first-generation Japanese) right to citizenship and right to vote.
At the Helsinki Olympics, Yoshio Oyakawa of Hilo captures the 100-meter backstroke gold medal and Ford Konno, a middle distance swimmer from McKinley High School, wins gold in the 1,500-meter freestyle. Maui swimmer William Woolsey wins gold in the men's 800-meter freestyle relay.
Jackie Liwai Pung becomes the first Hawai`i golfer to win a national championship, beating Shirley McFedters in the U.S. Women's Amateur at Waverly Country Club in Portland, Oregon.
Carl "Bobo" Olson from Kalihi wins the middleweight championship of the world at Madison Square Garden.
A.E. "Toots" Minvielle organizes the first 40-mile Moloka`i-to-O`ahu outrigger canoe race; the event becomes the most prestigious open-ocean race of its kind in the world.