1850: Captain Joh Walker of the U.S. light ship at Sand Key reported on maritime traffic that passed his vessel during the month of March: “Bound to Eastward — 10
He was calm, rational, and insightful. We can hardly applaud the practice of yellowface
1 with which the character has become associated, but we can at least separate him from the grotesque Asian villains generated by the Yellow Peril. He was a pop-culture hero to North American audiences in an era when the western mass media vilified people of Asian descent and the laws excluded them from public life. And, despite his broken English and love of fortune cookieaphorisms, the character did not speak pidgin, as has often been stated by those critiquing the character.
He is Charlie Chan, and he has been celebrated and reviled since 1925.