Henry ʻŌpūkahaʻia (c. 1792 – 1818) was one of the first Native Hawaiians to become a Christian, inspiring American Protestant missionaries to come to the islands during the 19th century.

[4] He had studied English grammar and the usual curriculum in public schools by the time he converted to Christianity in 1815, during the Second Great Awakening.

As it was not a written language, but lay in its chaotic state, every thing was to be done…he had made some progress towards completing a Grammar, a Dictionary, and a Spelling-book.

`Ōpūkaha`ia planned to return to Hawaii himself to preach, but contracted typhus fever and died in 1818 in Cornwall at the age of 26.

But both the school and `Ōpūkaha`ia were a catalyst for the Sandwich Island Mission and for the first concentrated efforts to analyze the language.

[8] On Aug. 15, 1993, his remains were laid in a vault facing the sea at Kahikolu Church near the town of Napoʻopoʻo, Kona, on the Island of Hawaii.

The Memoirs of Henry Obookiah were published in New York City in 1818 and have been republished by the Woman's Board of Missions for the Pacific Islands several times since the 1960s.