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0–9. .ak.us – Internet second-level domain for the state of Alaska. 49th State to join the United States of America. 54°40′ parallel north. 100 km isolated peaks of Alaska. 100Stone. 141st meridian west. 1500 meter prominent peaks of Alaska. 4000 meter peaks of Alaska.
Alaska portal; Index of Alaska-related articles; Outline of Alaska; List of boroughs and census areas in Alaska; USS Alaska, 4 ships; Notes
- 665,384 sq mi (1,723,337 km²)
- Anchorage
- Prehistory of Alaska
- 18th Century
- 19th Century
- 20th Century
- 21st Century
- Notable Historical Figures
- See Also
- References and Further Reading
Paleolithic families moved into northwestern North America before 10,000 BC across the Bering land bridge in Alaska (see Settlement of the Americas). Alaska became populated by the Inuit and a variety of Native American groups. Today, early Alaskans are divided into several main groups: the Southeastern Coastal Indians (the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsim...
Early Russian settlement
Russian expeditions of exploration reached Alaska by the early 18th century, and colonial traders (especially fur-traders) followed. On some islands and parts of the Alaskan peninsula, groups of Russian traders proved capable of relatively peaceful coexistence with the local inhabitants. Other groups could not manage the tensions and perpetrated exactions. Hostages were taken, individuals were enslaved, families were split up, and other individuals were forced to leave their villages and sett...
Spanish claims
Spanish claims to the Alaska region dated to the papal bull of 1493, but never involved colonization, forts, or settlements. Instead, Madrid sent out various naval expeditions to explore the area and to claim it for Spain. In 1775 Bruno de Hezeta led an expedition; the Sonora, under Bodega y Quadra, ultimately reached latitude 58° north, entered Sitka Sound and formally claimed the region for Spain. The 1779 expedition of Ignacio de Arteaga and Bodega y Quadra reached Port Etches on Hinchinbr...
Britain's presence
British settlements at the time in Alaska consisted of a few scattered trading outposts, with most settlers arriving by sea. Captain James Cook, midway through his third and final voyage of exploration in 1778, sailed along the west coast of North America aboard HMS Resolution, from then-Spanish California all the way to the Bering Strait. During the trip he discovered what became known as Cook Inlet (named in honor of Cook in 1794 by George Vancouver, who had served under his command) in Ala...
Later Russian settlement and the Russian-American Company
In 1799, Shelikhov's son-in-law, Nikolay Petrovich Rezanov, acquired a monopoly on the American fur trade from emperor Paul I and formed the Russian-American Company. As part of the deal, the emperorexpected the company to establish new settlements in Alaska and carry out an expanded colonization program. By 1804, Alexander Baranov, now manager of the Russian–American Company, had consolidated the company's hold on the American fur trade following his victory over the local Tlingit clan at th...
Alaska purchase
Financial difficulties in Russia, the low profits of trade with Alaskan settlement, and the important desire to keep Alaska out of British hands all contributed to Russia's willingness to sell its possessions in North America. At the instigation of U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, the United States Senate approved the purchase of Alaska from Russia for US$7.2 million on August 1, 1867 (equivalent to approximately $157M in 2023). This purchase was popularly known in the U.S. as "Seward'...
The Department of Alaska
The United States flag was raised on October 18, 1867, now called Alaska Day, and the region changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, for residents, Friday, October 6, 1867, was followed by Friday, October 18, 1867—two Fridays in a row because of the 12-day shift in the calendar minus one day for the date-line shift. During the Department era, from 1867 to 1884, Alaska was variously under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army (until 1877), the United States Departmen...
Alaska Territory
When Congress passed the Second Organic Act in 1912, Alaska was reorganized, and renamed the Territory of Alaska. By 1916, its population was about 58,000. James Wickersham, a Delegate to Congress, introduced Alaska's first statehood bill, but it failed due to the small population and lack of interest from Alaskans. Even President Warren G. Harding's visit in 1923 could not create widespread interest in statehood. Under the conditions of the Second Organic Act, Alaska had been split into four...
Statehood
By the turn of the 20th century, a movement pushing for Alaska statehood began, but in the contiguous 48 states, legislators were worried that Alaska's population was too sparse, distant, and isolated, and its economy was too unstable for it to be a worthwhile addition to the United States. World War II and the Japanese invasion highlighted Alaska's strategic importance, and the issue of statehood was taken more seriously, but it was the discovery of oil at Swanson River on the Kenai Peninsul...
North to the Future
"North to the Future" is the official state motto of Alaska, adopted in 1967 for the centennial of the Alaska Purchase. As one of the events leading up to the celebration, the Alaska Centennial Commission sponsored a contest in 1963 to come up with a centennial motto and emblem that would express the unique character of the State of Alaska. They offered a $300.00 (which is about $3000 in 2023 dollars) prize to the winning entry. 761 entries were received by the commission. In December 1963, t...
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of Alaskaon March 12, 2020. On March 11, Governor Mike Dunleavy's office declared a state of emergency to ensure all entities have the necessary response resources. The next day, the first case, a foreign national in Anchorage, was announced to the public. 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...
Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett (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 ar...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. ISBN 0-06-050306-8.Busenberg, George J. Oil and Wilderness in Alaska: Natural Resources, Environmental Protection, and National Policy Dynamics (Georgetown University Press; 2013) 168 pages; studies competing environ...Index of Alaska-related articles. A. List of African American newspapers in Alaska. B. List of botanical gardens and arboretums in Alaska. C. List of Alaska companies. E. List of edible plants and mushrooms of Southeast Alaska. F. List of films set in Alaska. FV Scandies Rose.
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Home Geography & Travel States & Other Subdivisions. Alaska Article. Alaska summary. Explore the history of Alaska, a U.S. state located in northwestern extremity of North America. Written and fact-checked by. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.
This page was last edited on 23 December 2023, at 21:07 (UTC).; Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; additional terms may apply.
The Alaska & Polar Regions Index cites articles concerning Alaska, northern Canada, northern Scandinavia, the Russian Far East, and Antarctica that are held by the Elmer E. Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. More than 200,000 articles are covered, with 5,000 added each year; most articles are not in any other index.
