seat but served as an elected representative of the people in 1860. His knowledge of law and the fact that he spoke the 3 Hawaiian languages fluently suited him for office. Knudsen also served as a member of the House of Representatives under the Monarchy and joined the Provisional Government after Queen Liliuokalani was deposed in 1893. Personal life During February 1867, Knudsen married Anne McHutcheson Sinclair, with whom he had five children: Ida, Augustus, Maud, Eric and Arthur, born between 1868 and 1875. Following his death, there were claims of allegedly illegitimate children which resulted in failed attempts of taking over the Kekaha Sugar Company. Valdemar Knudsen was known to the Hawaiians as Kanuka. In 1945, his son Eric Alfred Knudsen published Kanuka of Kauai, a book on the life of his father, as well as the Hawaiian natives who befriended him. References Other sources Gripsland, Torbjorn (2004) Forgotten Norwegians in Hawaii (emgirantforlaget) Knudsen, Eric A. and Gurre P. Noble (1945) Kanuka of Kaua‘i: The Story of a True Pioneer (Mutual Publishing) Mills, Peter R. (2002) Hawaii's Russian Adventure: A New Look at Old History (University of Hawaii Press) Moe, Jon (1975) Akamai: Sagaen om den norske utvandring til Hawaii (Gyldendal) Stejneger, Leonhard Hess (1887) Birds of Kauai Island, Hawaiian Archipelago collected by Mr. Valdemar Knudsen (Washington: Smithsonian Institution) Wilcox, Carol (1998) Sugar Water (University of Hawaii Press) External links Valdemar Knudsen and Anne Sinclair Knudsen 1819 births 1898 deaths People from Kristiansand Agriculture in Hawaii Businesspeople from Hawaii Norwegian emigrants to the United States Norwegian emigrants to the Hawaiian Kingdom Members of the Hawaiian Kingdom House of Representatives 19th-century American businesspeople