Following his ordination, Gowen left to Hawaii at the invitation of Alfred Willis, then the Anglican bishop of Honolulu. Willis was away when Gowen arrived, but he was greeted by a group of Chinese Christians from Kohala and led a service the following Sunday in what is considered the "beginning of St. Peter's Church, Honolulu".[1][2]
In 1909 Gowen became the founding chair of the University of Washington's Department of Oriental Subjects, a post he would hold until 1929.[1][3] Gowen continued to teach at the University of Washington until 1938, and would continue to be affiliated with the university until 1945.[1][3]
Personal life
Gowen was a polyglot and read, in addition to English, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, and Sanskrit.[3]
In 1977 Condon Hall at the University of Washington was renamed Gowen Hall in Gowen's honor.[4][a]
Asia: A Short History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day (1926)[5]
The Napoleon of the Pacific, Kamehameha the Great (1919)[5]
Church Work in British Columbia: Being a Memoir of the Episcopate of Acton Windeyer Sillitoe (1899)[5]
Notes
^In 1974 a second building named Condon Hall had been constructed; the name change was done partially to prevent two Condon Halls from existing on campus simultaneously.[4]