Alaska History Timeline

Main
Berring's First Journey (Colonial)
1700 1800 1900 2000 2100 2200 2300
Main
Anchorage Earthquake (Statehood)
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act "ANILCA" (Statehood)
Alaska-Canada Border is Settled (Territory)
Cooks Third Voyage (Colonial)
Berring's First Journey (Colonial)
Coal Mining Began In Alaska (Territory)
The Eclipse Sank in Shumagin Islands (Territory)
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Statehood)
Alaska Permanent Fund (Statehood)
WWII Event in Alaska (Territory)
Constitutional Convention (Territory)
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act "ANCSA" (Statehood)
Statehood
Anti-Discrimination Act (Territory)
Baranov named First Russian Governor of Alaska (Territory)
First Permanent Russian Settlement (Territory)
Territorial Organic Act of 1912 (Territory)
Gold Rush (Territory)
The Purchase of Alaska (Territory)
1725 - 1730
Vitus Bering, a Danish explorer, discovered the Bering Strait between Asia and North America. A Russian expedition led by Vitus Bering, along with
George Steller, made the first discovery of Alaska, landing on or near what today is Kayak Island. Bering explored the western coast of Alaska until
he was shipwrecked and died on Commodorsky Island, later named Bering Island.
Cooks Third Voyage (Colonial)
1776 - 1780
Captain Cook sailed up the northwest coast anchoring off the coast of Alaska, identifying what is now Cook Inlet. Common sailor, John Ledyard
established first Russian contact after traveling inland with a party of Native Alaskans. Cook continued to sail up the coast through the Bering Strait,
and entered into the Arctic Ocean, but was forced to turn back due to ice blocking the way.
First Permanent Russian Settlement (Territory)
1784
On Kodiak Island, Grigory Shelikhov, a Russian fur trader, founds Three Saints Bay, the first permanent Russian settlement in Alaska. The Three
Saints Bay colony was founded on Kodiak Island in 1784, and Shelikhov lived there for two years with his wife and 200 men.
Baranov named First Russian Governor of Alaska (Territory)
1799
Old Sitka, or Fort St. Michael, was established in July 1799 by Aleksandr Baranov (Baranof), the first Russian governor of Alaska. Baranov was
aggressive and determined as the manager and governor. One of his first acts was to extend the colony into Southeast Alaska. The Tlingit attacked
the Russian post in Sitka, roughly eighty Russians and Aleuts. Baranov fled, but later returned to takeover southeast Alaska, He would have failed if it
werent for a Russian naval ship, the Neva, that was waiting to help, armed with a number of cannons.
The Eclipse Sank in Shumagin Islands (Territory)
1807
The Eclipse, a Yankee fur trading vessel, sank in the Shumagin Islands, south of the Alaska Peninsula. It is the oldest known American shipwreck in
Alaska and was missing until 2007.
Coal Mining Began In Alaska (Territory)
1857
Coal mining began at Coal Harbor.
Gold Rush (Territory)
1864 - 1900
The Gold rush Hundreds of thousands of people to Alaska. It helped modernize Alaska to meet the needs of all the people, such as the railroad,
steam boats, and telegraphs. Although the gold rush brought people to parts of Alaska where white men had rarely gone. The miners and the new
towns were a threat to the Alaska Natives semi-nomadic life style and traditional dependence on the land.
The Purchase of Alaska (Territory)
1867
On March 30, 1867, the United States reached an agreement to purchase Alaska from Russia for a price of $7.2 million. The Tlingit and Haida
Indians protested the sale. They had not sold their land to the Russians, but the Russians sold it to the U.S. as if they had bought it. There was little
the Indians could do except voice their displeasure.
Alaska-Canada Border is Settled (Territory)
1903
The border between Alaska and Canada is settled.
Territorial Organic Act of 1912 (Territory)
1912
In 1884, Congress finally acted to create a civilian government for Alaska. The law, known as the First Organic Act provided the bare essentials of
government. The president was authorized to appoint the governor, who would operate, as much as possible under the laws of the State of Oregon
as they existed in1884. The law acknowledged the land rights of Alaska Natives in a provision that was to have long-lasting consequences.
WWII Event in Alaska (Territory)
1939 - 1945
The military forces of the United States have a large presence in Alaska.The Alaska Territorial Guard (ATG) was formed to stand watch over Alaskas
coast with the majority of guard members being Alaska Natives. Following WWII the ATG units were transferred into the National Guard and
armories were constructed in the larger Native villages. Native guard members were also provided with training in Anchorage or other military bases
outside the State. following WWII the ATG units were transferred into the National Guard and armories were constructed in the larger Native villages.
Native guard members were also provided with training in Anchorage or other military bases outside the State.
Anti-Discrimination Act (Territory)
1945
The Anti-Discrimination Act was passed in 1945 thanks to the help of Elizabeth and Roy Peratrovich. The Act gave white people and native people
the same rights. Under the law of the United States, and the law of Alaska Native people could no longer be discriminated against.
Constitutional Convention (Territory)
1955
Fifty-five delegates gathered in Fairbanks on November. 8, 1955 to begin drafting a constitution for a state that didnt exist. During their discussions ,
the delegates carefully examined every aspect of how to construct an ideal government for Alaska. It gave the vote to 19-year-olds at a time when
the standard age was 21, delayed action on Native land claims, called for a strong governor and declared that resources were to be managed and
developed for the benefit of all people. In spring the territorys voters approved the constitution by better than a two-to-one margin. It became the law
of the land three years later when Alaska, the 49th state, entered the Union.
Statehood
1959
Bartlett and Gruening were the powerful one-two punch of the Alaska statehood fight in the 1940s and 1950s. Gruening fought for ten years to
change Alaskas tax system. Finally, a comprehensive new tax system won approval in 1949, an act that some viewed as a prerequisite to show that
Alaska was ready for statehood. Alaska didnt become a state until 1959.
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Statehood)
1960
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States.
Anchorage Earthquake (Statehood)
1964
On March 27, 1964, at 5:36 p.m. ADT (03:36 3/28 UTC) a great earthquake of magnitude 9.2 (moment magnitude) occurred in Prince William Sound
region of Alaska. This earthquake is the second largest earthquake ever recorded in the world. The duration of rupture lasted approximately 4
minutes.
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act "ANCSA" (Statehood)
1971
Under provisions of the settlement, the Natives received title to a total of 40 million acres, to be divided among some 220 Native villages and twelve
Regional Corporations established by the Act. The twelve Regional Corporations (together with a thirteenth Regional Corporation comprised of
Natives who are non-permanent residents of Alaska) were to share in a payment of $462,500,000 (to be made over an eleven-year period from
funds in the U.S. Treasury), and an additional $500 million in mineral revenues deriving from specified Alaska lands.
Alaska Permanent Fund (Statehood)
1976
The Alaska Permanent Fund is a constitutionally established permanent fund managed by a state-owned corporation, the Alaska Permanent Fund
Corporation.
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act "ANILCA" (Statehood)
1980
This Act, (16 USC 410hh-3233, 43 USC 1602-1784) Public Law 96-487, approved December 2, 1980, (94 Stat. 2371) designated certain public
lands in Alaska as units of the National Park, National Wildlife Refuge, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Wilderness Preservation and National Forest
Systems, resulting in general expansion of all systems.
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