The ukulele (/ˌjuːkəˈleɪli/ yoo-kə-LAY-lee; from Hawaiian: ʻukulele [ˈʔukuˈlɛlɛ]), also called a uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments.

[6] Two weeks after they disembarked from the SS Ravenscrag in late August 1879, the Hawaiian Gazette reported that "Madeira Islanders recently arrived here, have been delighting the people with nightly street concerts.

"[7] One of the most important factors in establishing the ukulele in Hawaiian music and culture was the ardent support and promotion of the instrument by King Kalākaua.

Legend attributes it to the nickname of Englishman Edward William Purvis, one of King Kalākaua's officers, because of his small size, fidgety manner, and playing expertise.

[12] "Ukulele in the Classroom", a revised program created by James Hill and Doane in 2008, is a staple of music education in Canada.

[13] The ukulele arrived in Japan in 1929 after Hawaiian-born Yukihiko Haida returned to the country upon his father's death and introduced the instrument.

Haida and his brother Katsuhiko formed the Moana Glee Club, enjoying rapid success in an environment of growing enthusiasm for Western popular music, particularly Hawaiian and jazz.

[16] The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain tours globally, and the George Formby Society, established in 1961, continues to hold regular conventions.

[17] Harrison, who was a Formby fan, was a great lover of the instrument and often gave them to friends, including Tom Petty, whom he taught to play.

[18] The ukulele was popularized for a stateside audience during the Panama–Pacific International Exposition, held from spring to autumn of 1915 in San Francisco.

[21] The popularity of the ensemble with visitors launched a fad for Hawaiian-themed songs among Tin Pan Alley songwriters.

On April 15, 1923, at the Rivoli Theater in New York City, Smeck appeared, playing the ukulele, in Stringed Harmony, a short film made in the DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process.

[25] Like guitar, basic ukulele skills can be learned fairly easily, and this highly portable, relatively inexpensive instrument was popular with amateur players throughout the 1920s, as evidenced by the introduction of uke chord tablature into the published sheet music for popular songs of the time[25] (a role that was supplanted by the guitar in the early years of rock and roll).

[26] A number of mainland-based stringed-instrument manufacturers, among them Regal, Harmony, and especially Martin, added ukulele, banjolele, and tiple lines to their production to take advantage of the demand.

[33] All-time best-selling Hawaiian musician Israel Kamakawiwo'ole helped repopularize the instrument, in particular with his 1993 reggae-rhythmed medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World", used in films, television programs, and commercials.

One of the first videos to go viral was Jake Shimabukuro's ukulele rendition of George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".

Cheaper ukuleles are generally made from plywood or laminated woods, in some cases with a soundboard of a tonewood such as spruce.

The Tahitian ukulele, another variant, is usually carved from a single piece of wood,[58] and does not have a hollow soundbox, although the back is open.

Inspired by the Tahitian ukulele, there is the Motu Nui variant, from France, which has just four strings made from fishing line and the hole in the back is designed to produce a wah-wah effect.

Close cousins of the ukulele include the Portuguese forerunners, the cavaquinho (also commonly known as machete or braguinha) and the slightly larger rajão.

Other relatives include the Venezuelan cuatro, the Colombian tiple, the timple of the Canary Islands, the Spanish vihuela, the Mexican requinto jarocho, and the Andean charango traditionally made of an armadillo shell.