The History of the Ukulele
From a desperate Atlantic voyage in 1879 to America's Jazz Age stages, Hollywood films, and YouTube — the full, fascinating story of the world's happiest instrument, told simply and completely.
A classic soprano ukulele — the original size, born in Honolulu, Hawaii in the 1880s
The True Birthplace — Madeira, Not Hawaii
Ask any American where the ukulele comes from and they'll say Hawaii. It's a reasonable assumption — but only half the story. The ukulele's true birthplace is Madeira, a small volcanic island in the Atlantic Ocean, roughly 350 miles off the coast of Africa, belonging to Portugal.
Madeira means "wood" in Portuguese — and the island lived up to its name. It had a centuries-long tradition of woodworking, furniture making, and instrument crafting. Street musicians in the capital city of Funchal played small guitar-like instruments that were part of everyday Madeiran life for generations.
By the mid-1800s, Madeira was in deep crisis. Agricultural blights destroyed its vineyards. Famine and unemployment spread. Thousands of Madeirans had no choice but to emigrate and start a new life elsewhere.
At exactly the same moment, Hawaii's sugar industry was booming but desperately short of workers. Recruiters traveled the world looking for laborers — and found willing hands in Madeira. This collision of two distant islands would produce one of the world's most beloved musical instruments.
Madeira was a better place to escape from than to visit — and this desperate exodus would give the world one of its most beloved musical instruments.
Ukulele Magazine, 2015The Two Portuguese Instruments That Created the Ukulele
The ukulele was born from the marriage of two specific Portuguese instruments that Madeiran immigrants carried to Hawaii. Understanding these ancestors is essential to understanding the ukulele itself.
| Instrument | Strings | Origin | What It Gave the Ukulele |
|---|---|---|---|
| Machête (Braguinha) | 4 strings | Braga, Portugal | The compact body shape and overall physical form |
| Rajão | 5 strings | Madeira, Portugal | Its top 4 strings (G-C-E-A) became the standard tuning used worldwide today |
| Cavaquinho | 4 strings | Portugal / Brazil | Influenced the construction techniques of early Honolulu makers |
Three Men Who Changed Music Forever
In August 1879, the British clipper ship SS Ravenscrag completed a four-month, 12,000-mile voyage from Madeira to Honolulu Harbor. Among its 400+ Madeiran immigrants were three woodworkers from the city of Funchal who would quietly create a new instrument that would enchant the world.
The moment the Ravenscrag docked, their arrival was already musical. A fellow passenger named Joao Fernandes grabbed a borrowed machête and burst into joyful song on the harbor dock — celebrating after months at sea. Just two weeks later, the Hawaiian Gazette reported the Madeiran musicians were "delighting the people with nightly street concerts."
We would go to the King's bungalow. Lots of people came. Much music, much hula. And King Kalakaua, he pay for all!
Joao Fernandes, musician · Paradise of the Pacific, 1922How America Fell in Love with the Ukulele
The ukulele's explosive arrival in American culture can be traced to one event: the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California. The Hawaiian Pavilion's performances captivated hundreds of thousands of Americans. The craze was immediate, nationwide, and lasting.
- Became the defining American instrument of the era
- Affordable, portable, and easy to learn for everyone
- Uke chord tabs printed in all popular sheet music
- C.F. Martin, Regal, and Harmony rushed into production
- Vaudeville star Roy Smeck amazed audiences nationwide
- Marilyn Monroe plays uke in Some Like It Hot (1959)
- TV host Arthur Godfrey champions baritone uke on TV
- Tiny Tim's "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" hit (1968)
- Mario Maccaferri sells 9 million plastic ukes to Americans
- Jake Shimabukuro viral video — 17M+ views
- IZ "Over the Rainbow" — worldwide hit on Billboard
- Replaces recorder in U.S. school music programs
- Now the fastest-growing instrument in America
Complete Ukulele History Timeline
Every major moment in the ukulele's 140+ year journey from the Atlantic to the internet.
Three Madeiran woodworkers arrive in Hawaii. Joao Fernandes plays a machête on the dock in celebration. Within two weeks, the Hawaiian Gazette reports the musicians are "delighting the people with nightly street concerts."
Augusto Dias opens his shop in Chinatown. Manuel Nunes opens three blocks away. The first true ukuleles — built from Hawaiian koa, combining the machête's shape with the rajão's tuning — begin to take form.
Hawaii's last king learns to play the ukulele and incorporates it into royal performances. His endorsement transforms it from an immigrant novelty into a Hawaiian national symbol.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's catalogue lists two Hawaiian ukuleles — one of the earliest major institutional print appearances of the word "ukulele" in the United States.
At the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the Hawaiian Quartet captivates hundreds of thousands of Americans. A nationwide craze ignites. C.F. Martin, Regal, and Harmony rush into full ukulele production.
The ukulele becomes the defining American instrument. Uke chord tabs appear in sheet music coast to coast. Vaudeville virtuoso Roy Smeck amazes audiences. America's golden ukulele decade.
Musician Yukihiko Haida introduces the ukulele to Japan. Despite wartime suppression during WWII, devoted fans keep it alive in secret. Japan becomes a second home for Hawaiian musicians and ukulele culture.
The baritone ukulele is invented. TV host Arthur Godfrey champions it on his popular national show. Mario Maccaferri produces approximately 9 million inexpensive plastic ukuleles for American households.
In Some Like It Hot, Marilyn Monroe's Sugar Kane strums a ukulele in one of Hollywood's most iconic scenes, cementing the instrument in American pop culture forever.
Hawaiian legend IZ releases his gentle ukulele medley of "Over the Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World" — reaching #12 on Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart in 2004.
Jake Shimabukuro's YouTube video of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" surpasses 17 million views. YouTube becomes the world's most powerful engine for the modern ukulele revival.
The ukulele is one of the fastest-growing instruments in the U.S. by sales and active players. It has replaced the recorder in many American school music programs. The Kamaka Ukulele company still crafts instruments by hand in Honolulu today.
The Four Standard Ukulele Types — Explained Simply
Four standard sizes define the modern ukulele. Each has its own distinct character, sound, and ideal use.
The Greatest Ukulele Players in History
From Hawaiian royalty to Beatles legends and YouTube stars — 140 years of the ukulele's most important champions.
The Ukulele Around the World
Listen to the Sound of Ukulele History
Hear how the ukulele's sound evolved across the decades. Click any track to play it now — from Hawaiian street music to modern solo ukulele.
Demonstration samples illustrating each era's musical style. For authentic historical recordings, visit Smithsonian Folkways or the Library of Congress digital collections at loc.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ukulele History
Simple, clear answers to the most common questions Americans ask about the history of the ukulele.
The ukulele was invented by three Madeiran woodworkers — Manuel Nunes, Augusto Dias, and José do Espírito Santo — who arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii in August 1879 aboard the SS Ravenscrag. After completing plantation contracts, all three opened instrument workshops in Honolulu and built the hybrid instrument that became the ukulele.
The ukulele's roots are Portuguese. Its ancestor instruments — the machête and the rajão — were played on the island of Madeira, Portugal. Portuguese immigrants brought these to Hawaii in 1879, combined elements of both, and built them using Hawaiian koa wood to create the ukulele as we know it today.
The ukulele was developed starting in 1879, when Madeiran immigrants arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii. The first dedicated ukulele workshops opened around 1884. By the late 1880s, the instrument had already earned royal endorsement from King Kalākaua.
In Hawaiian, "ukulele" roughly translates to "jumping flea" — a vivid description of the rapid movement of a skilled player's fingers across the strings. An 1865 Hawaiian dictionary defined the word as "a cat flea," and around 1900, writer Jack London confirmed this meaning.
The ukulele's American breakthrough came at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California. The Hawaiian Pavilion's performances captivated hundreds of thousands of American visitors, sparking a nationwide craze that made the ukulele the defining instrument of the American Jazz Age in the 1920s.
The four standard sizes are: Soprano (~21 inches, the original), Concert (~23 inches, fuller tone, 1920s), Tenor (~26 inches, deeper bass, favored by professionals), and Baritone (~30 inches, tuned like a guitar, 1940s). Soprano, concert, and tenor share G-C-E-A tuning; the baritone uses D-G-B-E.
The answer is both. The ancestor instruments are Portuguese, from Madeira island. The instrument itself was created in Hawaii in 1879 by Portuguese immigrants who built it using Hawaiian koa wood. The ukulele is a unique blend of two island cultures — Portuguese musical heritage and Hawaiian craftsmanship.