Katana VentraIP

History of Alaska

The history of Alaska dates back to the Upper Paleolithic period (around 14,000 BC), when foraging groups crossed the Bering land bridge into what is now western Alaska. At the time of European contact by the Russian explorers, the area was populated by Alaska Native groups. The name "Alaska" derives from the Aleut word Alaxsxaq (also spelled Alyeska), meaning "mainland" (literally, "the object toward which the action of the sea is directed").[1]

For a topical guide to this subject, see Historical outline of Alaska.

The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867. In the 1890s, gold rushes in Alaska and the nearby Yukon Territory brought thousands of miners and settlers to Alaska. Alaska was granted territorial status in 1912 by the United States of America.


In 1942, two of the outer Aleutian Islands—Attu and Kiska—were occupied by the Japanese during World War II and their recovery for the U.S. became a matter of national pride. The construction of military bases contributed to the population growth of some Alaskan cities.


Alaska was granted U.S. statehood on January 3, 1959.


In 1964, the massive "Good Friday earthquake" killed 131 people and leveled several villages.


The 1968 discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay and the 1977 completion of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline led to an oil boom. In 1989, the Exxon Valdez hit a reef in Prince William Sound, spilling between 11 and 34 million US gallons (42,000 and 129,000 m3) of crude oil over 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of coastline. Today, the battle between philosophies of development and conservation is seen in the contentious debate over oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

See also

History of aviation in Alaska

21st century[edit]

COVID-19 pandemic[edit]

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Alaska on March 12, 2020.[28]


On March 11, Governor Mike Dunleavy's office declared a state of emergency to ensure all entities have the necessary response resources.[29] The next day, the first case, a foreign national in Anchorage, was announced to the public.[30]

On March 21, 2020, Ketchikan, a small, coastal town of approximately 8,000 residents located in Southeast Alaska was determined to have a cluster of six COVID-19 cases. The town sheltered in place for the following 14 days.[31] On March 24, 2020, three more cases of COVID-19 were found in Ketchikan, bringing the total there to nine.[32] The next day, the total cases there reached 11.[33] On April 1, 2020, the number of positive cases of COVID-19 in Ketchikan rose to 14.[34]

(1835–1877), Collector of Customs, Department of Alaska (1879–1881). U.S. Attorney, District of Alaska (1885–1887). Ball is credited with being the first elected representative to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1881. He was not seated by the House Committee on Elections as the Territory of Alaska had not yet been established.

Mottrom Dulany Ball

(1746–1819), Russian trader and governor of Alaska.

Alexander Baranov

(1904–1968), grew up in Fairbanks, was territorial delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives 1945–1959, and United States Senator from 1959 until his death. There are a substantial number of places throughout the state named for him.

Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett

(1913–1972), Alaska Native from Chignik. Designed Alaska's flag at age 13 as a resident of the Jesse Lee Home.

Benny Benson

(1681–1741), Danish explorer for the Russians, the first European to reach Alaska.

Vitus Bering

(1878–1956), territorial federal judge, first president of the University of Alaska.

Charles E. Bunnell

(1925–2019), merchant from Nenana. Held territorial or state elected offices spanning a period of over 40 years, including Lieutenant Governor 1990–1994. One of three surviving delegates to Alaska's constitutional convention 1955–1956.

John B. "Jack" Coghill

(1896–1993), James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle grew up in Nome, was a distinguished general in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, including earning the Medal of Honor.

Jimmy Doolittle

(1848–1929), lived in Alaska from 1897 to 1901, built the Dexter Saloon in Nome.

Wyatt Earp

(1914–1984), native of Valdez. Merchant, mayor and legislator. President of Alaska's constitutional convention 1955–1956, "Alaska-Tennessee Plan" (shadow) United States Senator 1956–1958, and following proclamation of statehood, the first and fourth governor of Alaska 1959–1966 and 1970–1974.

William A. Egan

(1897–1929), pioneering aviator.

Carl Ben Eielson

(1924–2023), another surviving delegate to Alaska's constitutional convention (the third is Seaborn J. Buckalew Jr., born 1920). Retired professor and researcher at the University of Alaska Anchorage, state senator 1981–1987.

Vic Fischer

(1887–1974), veteran journalist on the east coast of the United States and bureaucrat in the FDR administration, was appointed Governor of the Territory of Alaska in 1939, and served until 1953. He was one of the new state of Alaska's first two United States Senators, serving until 1969. Chiefly known as a Senator for one of two votes again the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

Ernest Henry Gruening

(1922–2005), resided for the better part of 50 years in rural southwest Alaska. Mayor and legislator. Fifth Governor of Alaska 1974–1982, during the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the rapid changes in state government which followed, including the Permanent Fund and its dividend program. Also known for his conservationist views and a unique way with words.

Jay Hammond

(1888–1965), official with the U.S. Forest Service in Alaska, appointed territorial governor and served during the height of activity on obtaining statehood for Alaska.

B. Frank Heintzleman

(1756–1837), Russian missionary, first Eastern Orthodox saint in North America.

Saint Herman of Alaska

(1919–2010), real estate developer/industrialist. Governor 1966–1969, resigned to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Nixon, elected to another term as governor 1990, served until 1994.

Walter Hickel

(1834–1909), an American missionary of the Presbyterian Church and educator, also instrumental in introducing reindeer to Alaska from Siberia. The educational institute he established in Sitka for Native youths became the Sheldon Jackson Museum and College (the latter now closed).

Sheldon Jackson

(1836–1899), and Richard Harris (1833–1907), prospectors and founders of what is now Alaska's capital city, Juneau.

Joseph Juneau

(1865–1950), industrialist, founder of some of Alaska's oldest radio stations and builder of currently recognized historic architecture. Produced The Chechahcos, the first movie produced in Alaska. Lathrop's feud with Gruening over statehood issues spawned the novel and film Ice Palace.

Austin Eugene "Cap" Lathrop

(born 1950), Lieutenant Governor 2002–2006, the first Alaska Native elected to statewide office.

Loren Leman

(1906–1952), the first Native American and first Alaskan to become a film star. He starred in MGM's Eskimo/Mala the Magnificent, which was filmed entirely on location in Alaska. His son, Dr. Ted Mala, became an influential Alaska Native physician, and was also Commissioner of Health and Social Services during Hickel's second governorship.

Ray Mala

(1883–1972), Fairbanks hostess and chorister. Also the basis for a character in Ice Palace.

Eva McGown

(1838–1914), naturalist, explorer, and conservationist who detailed his journeys throughout Alaska. Was instrumental, along with Gifford Pinchot, in establishing the first wilderness and forest preserves in Alaska during the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.

John Muir

(born 1965), Alaska's first astronaut. His first mission, STS-116. Commander Oefelein, who attended West Anchorage High School, received his commission from Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1988.

William Oefelein

(born 1964), Alaska's youngest governor, first female governor and Republican vice presidential nominee in 2008.

Sarah Palin

(1911–1958), an Alaska Native of Tlingit heritage who fought for passage of non-discrimination laws for Natives and is honored with "Elizabeth Peratrovich Day."

Elizabeth Peratrovich

(1870–1929), like Wyatt Earp, also a major figure in the Nome Gold Rush c. 1900–1901, and better known for exploits elsewhere.

Tex Rickard

(1910–2005), moved to the territory before statehood, eventually elected as the mayor of Anchorage and served during the Good Friday earthquake in March 1964. This was the most devastating earthquake to hit Alaska and it sank beach property, damaged roads and destroyed buildings all over the south central area. Sharrock, sometimes called the "earthquake mayor," led the city's rebuilding effort over six months.

George Sharrock

(1860–1898), Jefferson Randolph Smith, "Alaska's Outlaw." The infamous confidence man and early settler, who ran the goldrush town of Skagway, Alaska, 1897–98.

Soapy Smith

(1923–2010), United States Senator from Alaska 1968–2009, the longest service of any Republican member. Was originally appointed by Hickel following Bartlett's death, and re-elected seven times before losing re-election in 2008 as he faced a corruption trial. Widely known as a Senator as an often loud and angry advocate for Alaska. Died in a plane crash near Dillingham.

Ted Stevens

(born 1947), Lieutenant Governor 1994–2002, the first woman elected to statewide office in Alaska, later became chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Fran Ulmer

(1797–1879), First Russian Orthodox bishop in North America.

Saint Innocent of Alaska

(1913–1993), advocate of secession for Alaska, founder of the Alaskan Independence Party, multiple time unsuccessful candidate for governor.

Joe Vogler

(1899–1977), pioneering aviator, founder of Wien Air Alaska, first to make a round trip between Alaska and Asia.

Noel Wien

(1797–1870), explorer, president of the Russian-American Company in 1840–1849.

Ferdinand von Wrangell

Women's suffrage in Alaska

History of Fairbanks, Alaska

History of the west coast of North America

Legal status of Alaska

List of Russian explorers

National Register of Historic Places listings in Alaska

Western United States

Andrews, C.L. (1944). The Story of Alaska. The Caxton Printers, Ltd., Caldwell, Idaho.

Arnold, David F. The Fisherman's Frontier: People and Salmon in Southeast Alaska," by (2008)

Borneman, Walter R. (2003). Alaska: A Narrative History. Harper-Collins, New York, NY.  0-06-050306-8.

ISBN

Busenberg, George J. Oil and Wilderness in Alaska: Natural Resources, Environmental Protection, and National Policy Dynamics (Georgetown University Press; 2013) 168 pages; studies competing environmental and developmental interests in the state regarding the Trans-Alaska pipeline, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and reforms after the Exxon Valdez disaster.

Campbell, Robert. In Darkest Alaska: Travel and Empire along the Inside Passage (2008)

Chandonnet, Fern. Alaska at War, 1941–1945: The Forgotten War Remembered (2007)

Gruening, Ernest (1967). The Battle for Alaska Statehood. University of Alaska Press, Fairbanks.  0-912006-12-9.

ISBN

Gruening, Ernest (1954). . Random House, New York. ASIN B0006ATTII.

The State of Alaska

Haycox, Stephen (2002). Alaska: An American Colony. University of Washington Press, Seattle, WA.  0-295-98249-7.

ISBN

Henning, Robert, ed. (1981). Bits and Pieces of Alaskan History: Published over the years in From Ketchikan to Barrow, a department in the Alaska Sportsman and Alaska magazine - v.1. 1935-1959 / v.2. 1960-1974. Anchorage: Alaska Northwest Publishing Company.  978-0882401560.

ISBN

McBeath, Jerry et al. The Political Economy of Oil in Alaska: Multinationals vs. the State (2008)

Naske, Claus-M; Herman E. Slotnick (2003). . University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK. ISBN 0-8061-2099-1.

Alaska: A History of the 49th State

Spude, Catherine Holder. Saloons, Prostitutes, and Temperance in Alaska Territory (University of Oklahoma Press, 2015) xviii, 326 pp.

Wharton, David (1991). They Don't Speak Russian in Sitka: A New Look at the History of Southern Alaska. Markgraf Publications Group, Menlo Park, CA.  0-944109-08-X.

ISBN

Alaska History & Cultural Studies Curriculum