Judge Samuel King challenged prominent leadership for the good of a charity. Before his death I had never heard of him. His New York Times obituary popped up on a recent Google alert.

Recognizing malfeasance among the leaders of the richest U.S. charity in 1995, he co-authored a 1997 critical essay that led to investigations by Hawaii’s attorney general and the IRS. Ultimately the trustees were removed. The New York Times tells the story.

In 2010, that would be akin to charging Gates Foundation leadership with fraud and self-dealing.

Judge King stood up for the rights of the charitable trust and those it served by blowing the whistle on wrongdoing at the top of the nation’s charitable community. I admire the man for that.

Plus I like his sense of humor (see the obit’s last paragraph).