William Richards Castle

William Richards Castle (March 19, 1849 – June 5, 1935) was a lawyer and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii. Family William Richards Castle was born in Honolulu on March 19, 1849. His father was Samuel Northrup Castle (1808–1894), and mother was Mary Tenney Castle (1819–1907). He was a namesake of William Richards (1793–1847) who drafted the first constitution of the kingdom. On October 12, 1875, he married Ida Beatrice Lowrey (1854–1926) on October 12, 1875, and had three children. His brothers George Parmele Castle (1851–1932) and James Bicknell Castle (1855–1918) became executives in the firm Castle & Cooke which was co-founded by his father and Amos Starr Cooke, and developed it into one of the "Big Five" corporations that dominated the Territory of Hawaii economy. Career He attended Punahou School (then known as Oahu College) and then Oberlin College in Ohio and Harvard Law School, earning an LL.B. degree in 1873. He practised law for two years in New York City before returning to Hawaii in 1876. He was officer and director of several corporations. After Richard H. Stanley died in office in 1875, he was appointed to be Attorney General for King David Kalākaua from February to December 1876, when he was replaced by Alfred S. Hartwell. He was elected to the legislature of the Hawaiian Kingdom in the House of Representatives from 1878 to 1886, and House of Nobles from 1887 to 1888. Oberlin awarded him an honorary degree in 1887.