[1] John Green Hoapili was born 1833, at Ke Au Hou, North Kona, on the island of Hawaii, the son of Kanehoa and his wife Kapaleililahu.
[3][6] Governess of Hawaii Ululani Lewai Baker attempted to appoint him as her chief magistrate in 1888, but she was blocked by the Reform cabinet established after the signing of the Bayonet Constitution.
[10] Historian Ralph Simpson Kuykendall noted that the "idea of annexation was a factor in the cabinet struggle".
One these cabinet ministers Edward C. Macfarlane accused his detractors of being a part of a small cabal to bring about Hawaii's annexation to the United States.
This was not the case since many Native Hawaiians members including Hoapili and even a majority of the haole (Caucasian) legislators were opposed to the idea of annexation.
"[11] The 1892–93 legislative assembly would become the final session of the legislature before the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the deposition of Queen Liliʻuokalani.
The Royal Hawaiian Band played at his funeral, which was attended by Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole (representing the former Queen Dowager Kapiʻolani) and the Republic of Hawaii Attorney General William Owen Smith.