A Chronological
History of Alaska
Prehistoric Alaska
Human beings have inhabited South East, the Aleutians, the Interior
and the northwest Arctic for 11,000 or more years.
16th century
| 1579 | Sir Francis Drake's Secret Voyage to Northwest America brought him to Alaska's southeast (Chatham Strait, south of Juneau, between Baranof Island and Kulu Island). |
| 1725 | Peter the Great sends Vitus Bering to explore the North Pacific. |
| 1728 | Vitus Bering sails through the Bering Strait. |
| 1733 | Bering's second expedition, with George Wilhelm Steller aboard, the first naturalist to visit Alaska. |
| 1741 | Alexei Chirikof, with Bering expedition, sights land on July 15. |
| 1742 | First scientific report on the North Pacific fur seal. |
| 1743 | Concentrated hunting of sea otter by Russia begins. |
| 1774 | Juan Perez ordered by Spain to explore west coast; discovers Prince of Wales Island and Dixon Sound. |
| 1776 | Captain James Cookhouse expedition searches for the Northwest Passage. |
| 1725 | Cook reaches King Island, Norton Sound, Unalaska. |
| 1784 | Grigorii Shelikov (Schelichow) establishes the first non-Native settlement at Three Saints Bay, Kodiak. |
| 1786 | Gerassin Pribilof discovers the rookeries on the islands now know as the Pribilofs. |
| 1791 | George Vancouver leaves England to explore the coast; Alejandro Malaspina explores the northwest coast for Spain. |
| 1792 | Catherine II grants a monopoly of furs in Alaska to Grigorii Shelikov. |
| 1794 | First handful of Russian Orthodox monks arrive, but stay
only a short time. Baranov builds first vessel in northwestern America at Voskres-senski on Kenai. |
| 1795 | The first Russian Orthodox Church established in Kodiak. |
| 1799 | Alexander Baranov establishes Russian post known today as
Old Sitka; Exclusive trading rights granted to the Russian American Company. |
| 1802 | Russian fort at Old Sitka destroyed by Tlingits. |
| 1804 | Russians return to Sitka and attack Kiksadi fort on Indian River. Russians lose the battle but Natives are forced to flee. Baranov re-establishes trading post. |
| 1805 | Yurii Lisianski sails to Canton with the first Russian cargo of Alaskan furs to be sent directly to China. |
| 1815 - 1818 | The Romanzov Expedition under Captain Otto von Kotzebue led to naming of Escholtz Bay, Chamisso Island and Wildlife Refuge, the city of Kotzebue, and to many botanical discoveries on land and in Alaskan waters. |
| 1821 | No foreigners allowed in Russian-American waters, except at regular ports of call. |
| 1824 | Father Ivan Veniaminov arrives in Alaska with his family. Russians begin exploration of mainland that led to the discovery of the Nushagak, Kuskokwim, Yukon, and Koyokuk Rivers. |
| 1834 | Father Veniaminov moves to Sitka von Unalaska, consecrated Bishop Innokenty in 1840. |
| 1840 | Russian Orthodox Diocese formed; Bishop Innokenty Veniaminov given permission to use Native languages in Orthodox liturgy. |
| 1841 | Edward de Stoeckl assigned to the secretariat of the Russian legation in the U.S. |
| 1847 | Fort Yukon established. |
| 1848 | Cathedral of St. Michael dedicated at New Archangel (Sitka). |
| 1853 | Russian explorer-trappers find oil seeps in Cook Inlet. |
| 1857 | Coal mining begins at Coal Harbor on the Kenai Peninsula. |
| 1859 | De Stoeckl returns to U.S. from St. Petersburg with authority to negotiate the sale of Alaska. |
| 1861 | Gold discovered on Stikine River near Telegraph Creek. |
| 1865 | Western Union Telegraph Company prepares to put a telegraph line across Alaska and Siberia. |
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| Alaska is purchased from Russia | |
| 1867 | U.S. purchases Alaska from Russia; Pribilof Islands placed under jurisdiction of Secretary of Treasury. Fur seal population, stabilized under Russian rule, declines rapidly. |
| 1868 | Alaska designated as the "Department of Alaska" under Brevet Major General Jeff C. Davis, U.S. Army. |
| 1869 | The Sitka Times, Alaskans first newspaper is published. |
| 1872 | Gold discovered near Sitka and in British Columbia. |
| 1874 | George Halt said to be the first white man to cross the Chilkoot Pass in search for gold. |
| 1876 | Gold discovered south of Juneau at Windham Bay. |
| 1877 | U.S. troops withdrawn from Alaska. |
| 1878 | School opens at Sitka; it becomes Sheldon Jackson Junior College. First canneries in Alaska established at Klawock and Sitka. |
| 1880 | Richard Harris and Joseph Juneau, with the aid of local clan leader Kowee, discover gold on Gastineau; Juneau is founded. |
| 1881 | Parris Lode claim staked and by 1885 Treadwell Mine is the most prominent mine in Alaska. |
| 1882 | First commercial herring fishing begins at Killisnoo; first two central Alaska salmon canneries built. U.S. Navy bombs, then burns the Tlingit village of Angoon. |
| 1885 | Dr. C. H. Townsend suggest introduction of reindeer into Alaska. Dr. Sheldon Jackson appointed General Agent for Education in Alaska. |
| 1887 | Father William Duncan and Tsimshian followers establish Metlakatla on Annette Island. |
| 1890 | Large corporate salmon canneries begin to appear. |
| 1890 | Dr. Sheldon Jackson explores Arctic Coast; brings reindeer husbandry into Alaska. |
| 1891 | First oil claims staked in Cook Inlet area. |
| The Rush for Gold Begins | |
| 1894 | Gold discovered on Mastadon Creek; founding of Circle City. |
| 1896 | Dawson City founded at mouth of Klondike River; gold discovered on Bonanza Creek. |
| 1897 - 1900 | Klondike gold rush. |
| 1897 | First shipment of fresh halibut sent south from Juneau. |
| 1898 | Skagway is largest city in Alaska; work starts on White Pass
and Yukon Railroad;
Congress appropriates money for telegraph from Seattle to Sitka; Nome gold rush begins. |
| 1899 | Local government organized in Nome. |
| 1900 | Civil Code for Alaska divides state into three judicial districts, with judges in Sitka, Eagle, and St. Michael; capital moved to Juneau. White Pass railroad completed. U.S. Congress passes act to establish Washington-Cable (WAMCATS) that later becomes the Alaska Communications System (ACS). |
| 1901 | E.T. Barnette's ship, the Lavelle Young, is grounded on a bank of the Chena River. |
| 1902 | Felix Pedro (Felice Pedroni) discovers gold in Alaskans interior on July 22. |
| 1903 | E.T. Barnette and local miners name their settlement Fairbanks and the city is incorporated on November President Theodore Roosevelt establishes Tongass National Forest. |
| 1904 | Last great Tlingit potlatch held in Sitka. Submarine cables laid from Seattle to Sitka, and from Sitka to Valdez, linking Alaska to the "outside". |
| 1905 | Tanana railroad built; telegraph links Fairbanks and Valdez; Alaska Road Commission established under Army jurisdiction. |
| 1906 | Alaska authorized to send voteless delegate to Congress. Governor's Office moved from Sitka to Juneau. |
| 1907 | Gold discovered at Ruby; Richardson trail established; Fire devastates Fairbanks |
| 1911 | International agreement between U.S., Great Britain, Canada, Russia, and Japan controls fur seal fisheries; sea otters placed under complete protection; Copper River and Northwestern Railroad begins service to Kennecott Copper Mine. |
| 1912 | Territorial status for Alaska provides for a Legislature; Alaska Native Brotherhood organizes in Southeast; Mount Katmai explodes, forming Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. |
| 1913 | First Alaska Territorial Legislature convenes. First law passed grants women voting rights. |
| 1914 | Surveying begins for Alaska Railroad; City of Anchorage born as construction campsite. |
| 1915 | Alaska Native Sisterhood holds first convention in Sitka. |
| 1916 | First bill for Alaska statehood introduced in Congress. |
| 1918 | Congress creates Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines as a land grant college. (Now University of Alaska Fairbanks) |
| 1920 | Anchorage organizes city government. |
| 1922 | Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines opens. |
| 1923 | President Warren G. Harding comes to Alaska to drive the last spike in Alaska Railroad. |
| 1924 | Congress extends citizenship to all Natives in the United States; Tlingit William Paul, Sr. is first Native elected to Alaska Legislature. Start of airmail delivery to Alaska. |
| 1928 | Court case resolves right of Native children to attend public school. |
| 1929 | U.S. Navy begins 5-year survey to map parts of Alaska. Alaska Native Brotherhood Convention at Haines resolves to pursue land claims settlement in Southeast Alaska. |
| 1932 | Radio telephone communications established in Juneau, Ketchikan, and Nome. |
| 1935 | Matanuska Valley Project established. |
| 1936 | The Indian Reorganization Act of 1935 amended to include Alaska. |
| 1940 | Fort Richardson established; construction begins on Elmendorf Air Force Base. |
| 1942 | Japan bombs Dutch Harbor; invades Aleutians. |
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| Alaska-Canada Highway Built | |
| 1945 | Governor Gruening signs the Anti-Discrimination Act, the first such legislation passed in the United States and its possessions since post-Civil War. |
| 1946 | Boarding school for Native high school students opens at Mt. Edgecombe. |
| 1947 | The Alaska Command established; first unified command of the U.S. staffed by Army, Air Force, and Navy officers. First Alaska Native land claims suit, filed by Tlingit and Haida people, introduced in U.S. Court of Claims. |
| 1953 | Oil well drilled near Eureka on Glenn Highway marks the beginning of Alaska's modern oil history; First Alaskan television broadcast by KENI, Anchorage. |
| 1955 | Alaska's Flag adopted as the official song of the Territory; Constitutional Convention opens at University of Alaska Fairbanks. |
| 1956 | Territorial voters adopt the Alaska Constitution; send two senators and one representative to Washington under the Tennessee Plan. |
| 1958 | U.S. Congress votes to on July 7 to admit Alaska into the Union. |
| ALASKA elected two Senators and a Representative to Congress in
1956 in an effort to obtain statehood. The legislators went to Congress
when it convened on January 1957, to carry on the campaign there
for Alaskan statehood. The voters elected former Governor Ernest
Gruening and William Egan, former Speaker of the Alaska House, as
Senators, and Ralph J. Rivers as Representative in the historic
October 9 election. George H. Lehleitner, a New Orleans businessman,
suggested the unusual election action. He pointed out that Tennessee
elected two Senators in 1796 after Congress failed to approve statehood.
When the new Senators reached Washington, Congress permitted them
to take their seats, and made Tennessee a state. Michigan, California,
Oregon, Iowa, Minnesota, and Kansas used the same plan to achieve
statehood. The Alaska Constitutional Convention completed its work
at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks in February, and the voters
approved the constitution on April 24. (World Book Encyclopedia, 1957 Annual Supplement, 18.) |
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| Statehood | |
| 1959 | President Eisenhower signs statehood bill on January 3. |
| 1964 | Good Friday earthquake. |
| 1967 | Fairbanks flood. |
| 1968 | Oil pumped from a well at Prudhoe Bay on North Slope. Governor Hickel establishes Alaska Lands Claims Task Force that recommends a 40 million acre land settlement for Alaska Natives. |
| 1969 | North Slope Oil lease sale brings $900 million. First live satellite telecast in Alaska. |
| 1971 | Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act signed into law. |
| 1973 | Congress passes the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act; salmon fisheries limited entry program becomes law. |
| 1975 | Alaska Legislature appropriates funds to initiate purchase and installation of 100 satellite earth stations for establishment of statewide satellite communications network. |
| 1976 | Natural gas pipeline proposals filed. Alaska voters pick Willow as new capital site; voters approve constitutional amendment establishing Alaska Permanent Fund to receive "at least 25 percent" of all state oil revenues and related income. |
| 1977 | Trans-Alaska Pipeline completed from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. Congress passes Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). |
| 1985 | State purchases Alaska Railroad from the federal government. |
| 1988 | International efforts to rescue two whales caught by ice off Barrow captures world-wide attention; a one-day visit of a group of Alaskans to the Siberian port city of Provideniya; |
| 1989 | The Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker carrying 53 million gallons of North Slope crude grounds on Bligh Reef spilling 11 million gallons into Prince William Sound |
| 1991 | The State of Alaska, the U.S. Justice Department and Exxon reach a $1 billion settlement resulting from the Exxon Valdez oil spill which is rejected by the U.S. District Court. An amended settlement earmarking more money for restoration work in Prince William Sound wins judicial approval. Congress effectively closes the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil development. |
| 1994 | Federal trial results in $5 billion dollar verdict in the Exxon Valdez case. Voters defeat the latest proposal to move the Alaska capital away from Juneau. |
| 1995 | Canadian fisherman attack an Alaska ferry with paint and ball bearings projected from slingshots in frustration over inconclusive U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty talks, which hinder Southeast Alaska's troll king salmon fishery. The $267 million dollar Healy Clean Coal Project is launched with a substantial backing by the U.S. Department of Energy. |
| 1996 | A federal judge rules against the State of Alaska in a case brought by Governor Hickel and continued by Governor Knowles over the state's interpretation of how the Alaska Statehood Act affects the federal government's management of federal lands in the state. U.S. Congress lifts the ban on exportation of Alaska crude oil. |
| 1997 | Canadian fishermen in Prince Rupert blockaded an Alaskan ferry for three days in protest of Alaskan salmon-fishing practices; ferry service to Prince Rupert was disrupted for 19 weeks. |
| 1998 | The moose was adopted as Alaska's official state land mammal. The new Seward SeaLife Center is the western hemisphere's first cold water marine research facility. |
| 1999 | Two legendary dog mushers died - Joe Redington, Sr., founder
of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and Edgar Nollner, Sr., the
last surviving musher of the 1925 diphtheria serum run to Nome. The Alaska Native Heritage Center opened in Anchorage |
| 2000 | Along with the rest of the world, Alaskans welcomed the year 2000 with fanfare and firecrackers. |
| 2005 | 50th Anniversary of Alaska's Constitutional Convention. |
| 2006 | Sarah Palin becomes Alaska's first woman Governor. |
| 2007 | Lance Mackey becomes the first musher to win both the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in the same year. |
| 2008 | Lance Mackey won both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod sled dog races for the second year in a row. |
| 2011 | John Baker, the first Alaska Native musher to win the Iditarod race since 1976, sets the Iditarod record of 8 days, 18 hours, 46 minutes and 39 seconds. |
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