king kamehameha. >> he was the one that united all of the hawaiian islands.ut written language, without a common language, he was actually able to combine all those islands into one territory. >> reporter: years earlier, kamehameha had befriended british explorers under the command of captain cook. that friendship had an important influence on the design of the hawaiian flag. kamehameha incorporated the british flag in the upper left-hand corner, or canton, of the hawaiian flag. he also included eight red, white, and blue stripes. they represent hawaii's eight major islands. in 1894, americans with powerful interests in hawaii's sugar and pineapple industries overturned the monarchy. they declared hawaii a republic. following the attacks on pearl harbor in 1941, public sentiment among hawaiians grew in favor of statehood. in 1959, hawaii became our fiftieth state, but its flag has never changed. today, hawaii remains the only state to feature a british flag from times gone by. for flag facts, i'm kristen. >> that wraps up our show, but we'll be back with more