This Day in History: 0000-08-26
1959 – “Asian American Elected to U.S. Senate for First Time
” Hiram Fong, who was one of Hawaii’s most prominent and successful businessmen at the time, was elected to represent Hawaii in the U.S. Senate. He became the first Asian American elected to the legislative body. He was also the first Asian American to seek the Republican party’s nomination for resident of the United States. Fong was the first in a long line of Asian American elected officials to represent Hawaii, including Daniel Inouye, Daniel Akaka and Mazie Hirono.
August 1, 1952- “Major Sammy Lee Wins Olympic Gold” "Major Sammy Lee, a 31-year-old Korean American doctory in the U.S. Army, became the first Asian American to win an Olympic medal for the 10-meter high dive. Prior to that, he served in two wars. He was nicknamed the The Oriental from Occidental, a nod to his time as a student-athlete at Occidental College. Later in life, he coached Greg Louganis, who went on to win several diving gold medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics."