Short answers, pulled from the story.
Pearl Harbor is historically significant because a surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy on the 7th of December 1941 led the United States to declare war on the Empire of Japan, marking the country's entry into World War II. The harbor also serves as the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet.
Hawaiians originally called Pearl Harbor Wai Momi, meaning "Waters of Pearl," or Puuloa, meaning "long hill." In Hawaiian tradition, the harbor was regarded as the home of the shark goddess Kaahupahau and her brother Kahiuka.
The United States gained the exclusive right to maintain a coaling and repair station at Pearl Harbor on the 20th of January 1887, when the US Senate ratified the arrangement under the Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 as supplemented by a Convention on the 6th of December 1884. The US took physical possession on the 9th of November 1887.
Lt. Gen. Walter Short and Adm. Husband Kimmel were the two American commanders demoted of their full ranks shortly after the Japanese attack on the 7th of December 1941. Both men later sought to restore their reputations and full military ranks.
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam was created in 2010 when the US Navy and Air Force merged Pearl Harbor Naval Base with the adjacent Hickam Air Force Base. It remains the headquarters of the United States Pacific Fleet.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made the first official visit by a sitting Japanese leader to Pearl Harbor in December 2016, joining US President Barack Obama to mark the 75th anniversary of the 1941 attack.