Clifford Brown Wood was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 14, 1859. At the urging of his boyhood friend, Dr. Francis Day, Wood arrived in Honolulu on Christmas Day, 1886. Wood soon had an appointment as government physician for the Koolaupoko district of Oahu. Resigning from the Koolaupoko position in December 1887, the doctor became city physician for Honolulu. His duties included serving as physician for the branch hospital in Kakaako, serving as physician at the dispensary in Honolulu, inspecting and vaccinating students in the Honolulu schools, and acting as police department physician. The salary of the city physician was a princely $2400 a year. Quite understandably, he resigned after about four months to devote more time to his private practice. About 1888 he was appointed acting physician for the Lunalilo Home, which cared for indigent Hawaiians. In 1890 Dr. Wood became assistant physician at the Queen's Hospital. He was named surgeon in 1892 and continued in this capacity until 1905. Dr. Wood was the first doctor to serve on its Board of Directors and was the founder of the Thursday Morning Clinic.

The only bullet fired during the overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani and the end of the monarchy was lodged in the leg of a Hawaiian policeman and was extracted by Dr. Wood. He took an active part in working towards annexation by serving on the Council of the Republic, Citizens' Guard, and the Annexation Club.

In addition to his other activities, the doctor was a member of the Hawaiian Society of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, the Pacific Club and the Myrtle Boat Club. One of his earliest hobbies was photography, and he was one of the founders of the Hawaiian Camera Club and served on its first Executive Committee in 1889.

George Pierce Andrews was born at Kailua, Hawaii, on April 9, 1838, the son of Dr. Seth Lathrop Andrews and Parnelly (Pierce) Andrews, who came to Hawaii in 1837 as members of the Eighth Missionary Company. Reared and schooled on the mainland, Andrews returned to reside in Hawaii in 1890. In 1893 he was selected as one of the three medical men to serve on the Board of Health under the Provisional Government, and in September 1893, he became Port Physician.

From 1890 to 1891 he served as president of the Hawaiian Mission Children's Society. Reading a paper entitled, "A Polyglot Community", before the Social Science Club in 1897, the Advertiser reported that the doctor "expressed very tolerant and progressive views on intermarriage," which certainly was not indicative of the thinking of the times. From 1897 to 1898 he served as president of the Hawaii Medical Association. Appointed to the Board of Medical Examiners in 1898, he served until November 1902. In 1899 the Honolulu Eye and Ear Infirmary was established to provide free treatment for needy patients with Dr. Henry Sloggett as surgeon, assisted by Dr. Andrews.

He was a recognized connoisseur of oriental rugs and pottery and was also interested in weaving, botany and chemistry.

Charles Bryant Cooper was born in Babylon, New York, on November 19, 1864, to the Rev. Charles White and Frances Cooper. He was educated at Wallkill Academy in Middleton, New York, then at Williston Seminary in Easthampton, Massachusetts. In 1889, he received his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Due to failing health, Dr. Cooper sought the warmer climate of the tropics and moved to Honolulu in 1891, where he became a prominent figure in Hawaii history.

While serving as police and prison surgeon for the government of Hawaii, the doctor was commissioned by the government as regimental surgeon in December 1893, and later held the same position for the new Republic. Earlier in 1893, Dr. Cooper participated in the search that took place on the island of Kauai for the lepers there who were resisting relocation to the colony established on the island of Molokai.

Dr. Cooper remained intensely interested in Hansen's disease (leprosy), and as president of the Territorial Board of Health in 1904, he sought Congressional aid in furthering the research for a cure for the disease. As a result of his efforts, $100,000 was appropriated for equipment and another $50,000 was appropriated as an annual maintenance fund.

During his medical career, Dr. Cooper served in several military positions, for both the Hawaiian and the American governments. He served as regimental surgeon for both governments, surgeon general of the National Guard of Hawaii, military aid to Gov. Lucius E. Pinkham, and was in charge of all medical examinations for the draftees of the Army in WWI.

Ernest Coniston Waterhouse was born in London, England on November 16, 1871, and later became a naturalized American citizen. His early education was gained in Hawaii -- first at Punahou, then Oahu College. He received his medical degree at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1898.

Upon his return to Hawaii, Dr. Waterhouse practiced medicine and surgery for thirteen years, from 1900 to 1913. He formed a partnership with Dr. J.R. Judd, and this partnership was the foundation for the Honolulu Medical Group, which continues to serve the Honolulu community today.

Within a few years of his return to the Islands, Dr. Waterhouse developed an interest in the rubber industry of the Far East, where he became the first American to start planting rubber. He started two plantations there, the Pahang and Trandjog Olak Rubber plantations, and served as the president of both. From 1914-1916, Dr. Waterhouse was the manager of a rubber estate in Sumatra, and then became the president and managing director of the Hawaiian Sumatra Plantations, Ltd.

William Henry Mays was born in England, where he received his early education. His medical degree was gained from the University of California Department of Medicine in 1893. While practicing medicine in that state, Dr. Mays held several important positions in the medical community.

Dr. Mays arrived in Honolulu in 1900, and within three years, he was named attending staff physician at the Queen's Hospital and appointed to the Board of Health by Governor Dole. One of his many contributions to the Board of Health was the set of rules regarding the running of government hospitals. In 1904, when the Legislature failed to grant the funds necessary to pay the salaries of government physicians, Dr. Mays enlisted doctors on a voluntary basis so that the dispensery could remain open until the salaries had been restored.

In November 1906, Dr. Mays returned to California where he continued practicing medicine for several more years. Despite the small number of years he served the community of Honolulu, the contributions of Dr. Mays made lasting impressions on the medical community.