Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state when it was admitted on August 21, 1959.
Hawaii entered the Union after Alaska, which became the 49th state on January 3, 1959. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii Admission Act, and Hawaii's statehood followed a referendum in which voters approved statehood.
The state consists of islands in the central Pacific, with Honolulu on Oahu serving as the capital. Hawaii is the only U.S. state made entirely of islands and the southernmost state in the country.
The admission date is distinct from Hawaii's earlier annexation by the United States in 1898 and its period as a U.S. territory beginning in 1900. It is also distinct from the 1959 admission of Alaska, which occurred months earlier and made Hawaii the final state admitted to the Union.