Alexander ran away from home at the age of fifteen. He became a successful merchant in Irkutsk, Siberia. He was lured to Russian America, by the growing fur trade there. He became a successful trader there and established and managed trading posts in the Kodiak Island region. From 1799 to 1818, through Nikolai Rezanov's intervention, he became chief manager for the influential Russian-American Company. He managed all of the company's interests in Russian America, including the Aleutian and Kuril Islands. Activity in the region flourished as trading in sea otters and seals boomed. Baranov convinced native hunters to expand their range to include the coasts of California.• More Aleksandr Andreyevich Baranov Books

Bartlett was born in Seattle, Washington. After graduating from the University of Alaska in 1925, Bartlett began his career in politics. A reporter for the Fairbanks Daily News until 1933, he accepted the position of secretary to Delegate Anthony Dimond of Alaska. Three years later he became the chairman of the Unemployment Compensation Commission of Alaska • More Bob Bartlett Books

For Alaskans, this story of "Benny's Flag" is part of our history. For others, it offers a unique view into some of the values that shape life in the 49th state. What other place would have a contest for schoolchildren to design the state flag? Benny, who won the contest, wanted to express his love for Alaska in his design, and so he looked to nature for his inspiration. As did the illustrator. The lush and evocative two page paintings bring the reader right into Benny's world, while the author tells the story with simplicity and grace. The warmth of this beautifully illustrated book will draw in adults as well as children. • Benny Benson Books

Vitus Jonassen Bering is a towering figure in the history of exploration. In the course of two expeditions that consumed most of his adult life-and eventually led to his death-he journeyed from St. Petersburg to Siberia and ultimately to the northwest coast of America. Along with the members of his expedition (thousands participated in the second expedition), Bering greatly expanded the Russian empire, pioneered the geography of the North Pacific Ocean, and laid the groundwork for Russian trade and settlement in the American West. In the first biography of Bering written in over a century, Orcutt Frost chronicles the life of this extraordinary explorer. Drawing on a wide range of new evidence-including personal letters and archaeological evidence derived from the recent discovery of Bering's grave site-the author reconstructs Bering's personality, his perilous voyages, and his uneasy relationship with the naturalist Georg Steller, who unobtrusively guided the stranded expedition as Bering lay dying. A riveting narrative of adventure and disaster on the high seas, this biography is also a major contribution to the history of maritime exploration.• Vitus Jonassen Bering Books

In August 11, 1921 Bunnell was appointed the president of the newly created Alaska Agricultural College and School of Mines, which later became the University of Alaska. He served in this capacity for 27 years, through a great amount of expansion, and the Alaska constitutional convention. • Charles E. Bunnell Books

The Story of Carl Ben Eielson (Paperback) ~ Edward A. Herron (Author) Eielson, a pioneer North Dakota aviator, became the father of airmail service in Alaska. After developing fame as an Alaska bush pilot, he was engaged by Arctic explorer, Hubert Wilkins to pilot him. Eielson and Wilkins were the first two individuals to fly over both the Arctic and the Antarctic.

His interest in aviation went back to his childhood. Following America’s entry into World War I, Eielson found his chance to become an aviator. Eielson learned to fly in the U.S. Army Air Service in 1917. In January 1918 he enlisted in the newly-formed aviation section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps. World War I ended while Eielson was in flight training. This ended America’s immediate need for pilots and Eielson, not willing to give up flying, together with friends organised the Hatton Aero Club starting with barnstorming. • Carl Ben Eielson Books

Born in Ellinwood, Kansas, Hickel relocated to Alaska in 1940, going into the local real estate industry. By 1947, Hickel had formed a successful construction company. While some fellow Republicans in the Alaska Territory opposed statehood, Hickel joined Democrats in calls for joining the Union during the late 1940s and into the 1950s. Using his growing popularity among Alaskan Republicans and growing political clout in Washington, Hickel was able to travel to the nation's capital to engage in talks with key Republicans in both the U.S. Congress and within the Eisenhower Administration to speak about Alaskan statehood. Thanks in part to his efforts, Hickel's debates with Congressional leaders led to enough initially hesitant Republicans voting in favor of the Alaska Statehood Act in 1958. • Walter J. Hickel Books

Sheldon Jackson was born in 1834 in Minaville, in the Town of Florida, in Montgomery County, New York. He graduated from Union College in 1855, and from the Presbyterian Church's Princeton Theological Seminary in 1858. He became an ordained Presbyterian minister.

As he began his extensive missionary career, Reverend Jackson first worked in the north-central and western United States, which were still vast and lightly populated areas during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and in the years soon thereafter. His work there helped establish dozens of new congregations churches. However, an area of the United States even more challenging awaited him. • Sheldon Jackson Books

His Native American guide in southeastern Alaska was Chief Kowee. Kowee is credited with discovering much of the Juneau area. Joe and Richard were sent with Kowee by George Pilz, an entrepreneur from Sitka. Joe and Richard traded with the natives much of their grubstake (rations) for hoochinoo (alcoholic brews). Needless to say, the prospectors accomplished nothing. When they returned to Pilz empty-handed, he promptly sent them back to the Juneau area. There, Kowee took them beyond Gold Creek (which today flows beside the city's United States Federal Building) to Silver Bow Basin. Today, a creek on Douglas Island is named Kowee Creek.

After the discovery of gold in Juneau, Joe and Richard loaded approximately 1,000 pounds of gold ore back to Sitka. • Joe Juneau Books

Kilcher debuted on February 28, 1995, with the album, Pieces of You, which became one of the best selling debut albums of all time, going platinum twelve times. One single from the album, "Who Will Save Your Soul", peaked at #11 on Billboard's Hot 100; two others, "You Were Meant for Me" and "Foolish Games", each reached #2 and were included in Billboard's 1997 year-end singles chart. During her career, she has released several albums, frequently switching genres between working on her albums. Perfectly Clear, her first country record, was released on The Valory Music Co. in 2008. It debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums chart and featured three singles, "Stronger Woman", "I Do", and "Til It Feels Like Cheating". Jewel released her first independent album Lullaby in May 2009. • Jewel Kilcher Books • Jewel Discography

London's mother, Flora Wellman, a music teacher and spiritualist who claimed to channel the spirit of an Indian chief, became pregnant, presumably from her union with William Chaney, an astrologer she lived with in San Francisco. According to Flora Wellman's account as recorded in the San Francisco Chronicle of June 4, 1875, Chaney demanded that she have an abortion, and when she refused, he disclaimed responsibility for the child. In desperation, she shot herself. She was not seriously wounded, but she was temporarily deranged. After she gave birth, Flora turned the baby over to ex-slave Virginia Prentiss, who would remain a major maternal figure throughout London's life. • Jack London Books

Environmental writer and professor Worster (Dust Bowl, Nature's Economy) presents the inspiring story of John Muir, who rebelled against orthodoxy and became one of the founders of modern environmentalism. Born in 1838 in Scotland, Muir's family emigrated to Wisconsin when he was ten. For the next 12 years, he labored on his family's farm, then left home to become a machinist and enroll in a University of Wisconsin botany course. His main interest, however, was exploring the remaining wilderness of the U.S. Finally settling in California, Muir mastered botany on his own, and by 1871 was providing the Smithsonian with regular reports of his findings. While continuing his travels, including several trips to Alaska, Muir wrote articles for local and national journals urging conservation, and was elected the first president of the Sierra Club in 1892, a position he would hold for the rest of his life. Worster's thorough, involving biography sets Muir's adventurous story against the technical and scientific culture of the day, featuring some of the period's leading thinkers and doers-including Ralph Waldo Emerson and President Theodore Roosevelt-taking on environmental issues that resonate now more than ever. • John Muir Books

Murkowski was born in Ketchikan, Alaska to Nancy R. Gore and Frank Murkowski. Her paternal grandfather was of Polish descent and her mother's side was Irish. As a child, she and her family moved all over the state due to her father's job. Frank Murkowski worked in the banking industry until he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980. Lisa earned a B.A. in economics from Georgetown University in 1980, and a Juris Doctor from Willamette University College of Law in 1985. She is a member of Pi Beta Phi sorority.

She became a member of the Alaska Bar Association in 1987. She was an attorney in Anchorage, Alaska from 1985 to 1998. She also served, from 1990 to 1991, on the mayor's task force on the homeless. (R - AK) Class III 709 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-6665 Web Form: murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactM... • Lisa Murkowski Books

Sarah Palin grew up in Alaska towns, from Skagway to Wasilla to Anchorage, while her dad taught science and coached high school sports. She and her future husband, Todd Palin, graduated from Wasilla High School in 1982, and she went on to earn her college degree from the School of Journalism at the University of Idaho. Palin served two terms on the Wasilla City Council, then two terms as the city's mayor and manager, and was elected by her peers as president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors. She then chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. Palin was elected Alaska's youngest, and first female, governor, serving from 2006 to 2009. While serving her state she was tapped as Senator John McCain's running mate in 2008, becoming the first female Republican vice presidential candidate in our nation's history.

The Palins reside in Wasilla with their five children, including a son in the U.S. Army, and one grandson. They enjoy an extended family throughout Alaska and the Lower 48. • More Sarah Palin Books

A Native Alaskan who fought for Native rights in Alaska.  She gave a speech in 1945 to the state legislature that led to a law banning discrimination against Natives; born in Petersburg. Presented in encyclopedia format, with articles ranging from "Abolitionist Movement" to "YWCA," this hefty book provides a vast amount of material, both factual and interpretive. The editors, which include such icons as Gloria Steinem and the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller, give a broad overview of issues relevant to feminist history and present material that will further debates about the role played by women in American history. The Reader's Companion offers a strongly feminist interpretation, and some would no doubt argue that many of the pieces are not so much history as arguments for social reform. That said, the reference's nearly exhaustive coverage (there are more than 400 articles) makes the book a valuable resource. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition. • Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich Books

Redington was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma on February 1, 1917 and lived there until he was six years old. His mother left him shortly after his birth, and he grew up with his father and his brothers James and Ray. Joe Redington's father was a laborer who worked was a rancher, on the oil fields, and even traveled with Irish Gypsies for two years. Because of this, Joe went to school in many different places. He attended school in Spearman, Texas, Fairberry, Nebraska, Aurora, South Dakota, and Geary, Oklahoma. After living in Jersey City, New Jersey for one year, they settled on a farm in Kintnersville, Pennsylvania in 1930.

In 1940, Redington enlisted in the United States Army, and joined the 6th Field Artillery at Fort Hoyle, Maryland. He was later transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where he became part of the infantry, and was trained in the Field Artillery Jump School. He was assigned to the Pacific Theatre during World War II, and was part of the Special Assault Troops. He was discharged from Fort Dix, New Jersey after the war and returned to Pennsylvania. • Joe Redington, Sr Books