The New International Encyclopædia/Ricord, John

RICORD, rḗ-kōr′, or RICARD, John. An American lawyer, said to have been a native of New York State, who went to Hawaii in October, 1843, and the next year was appointed Attorney-General of the island kingdom. In 1845 the Hawaiian Legislature authorized him to draft a series of acts organizing the five executive departments of the Government: Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Public Instruction, and Attorney-General. It also adopted changes in the Constitution of 1840 affecting the Privy Council and the judiciary, which he proposed. In 1846 and 1847 it accepted the statute laws that he drew up, and these continued until the revolution to be the basis of Hawaii's civil code. His services in shaping Hawaiian institutions during their formative period were very valuable. He left the islands in 1847.