Some highlights in Alaska’s history.
The underlined words will take you to much more information about Alaska.
- 1867 – October 18th the formal transfer of Alaska from Russia was held in Sitka
- 1913 – First act of the Territorial Legislature was giving women the right to vote (seven years before the 19th Amendment)
- 1939 – Phone link established between Alaska and Lower 48
- 1942 – Japanese bomb Dutch Harbor in June
- 1942 – The Alaska Highway dedicated in November
- 1947 – Statehood referendum passes & the first woman climbs Denali
- 1951 – First house-to-house delivery begins in Anchorage
- 1952 – Seward Highway opens & the first aircraft lands at the North Pole
- 1953 – Mount Spurr erupts, blanketing Anchorage in ash
- 1955 – Willow Ptarmigan is named Alaska’s official bird
- 1959 – Alaska becomes the 49th state!
- 1964 – The Good Friday earthquake strikes on March 27
- 1977 – Trans-Alaska pipeline completed from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez
- 1982 – First Permanent Fund dividends distributed
- 1989 – Exxon Valdez spills 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound
- 1998 – The moose is adopted as Alaska’s official state land mammal
- 2002 – A record-setting snowfall of 28.6 inches hits Anchorage on St. Patrick’s Day
- 2007 – Lance Mackey becomes the first musher to win the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race and the Iditarod Trail Dog Race in the same year
Wrangell fishing boat, photo by Jean Petticrew
