Charles Nichols Spencer

Charles Nichols Spencer (1837 – March 6, 1893) was the Minister of Finance for the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi. He was one of Kalākaua's Cabinet Ministers at the time of the king's January 20, 1891 death, and the longest hold-over into Liliʻuokalani's Cabinet Ministers, serving June 17, 1890 – Sept 12, 1892. Background Born in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, in 1853 he joined his brother Thomas in Hilo in the ship chandler trade. On the island of Hawaii, Charles and Thomas ran a general mercantile store, operated a sugar cane business, and engaged in the exporting of sugarcane and pulu. The 7.9 magnitude 1868 Hawaii earthquake, also referred to as "The Great Ka`u Earthquake", occurred near the southern tip of the island of Hawaii. It triggered landslides, volcanic eruptions and a tsunami, destroying the economy on the island. As a result, the Spencer brothers relocated to Honolulu and continued in the mercantile trade.