Home USA States Alaska Timeline History

1578: Cossack Chieftain Yermak Timofief journeyed eastward from Russia across steppes 1639: Cossack horsemen arrived; built first Russian village 1725: Vitus Bering explored Northwest coast; established Russia's claim 1728: Bering sailed through Bering Strait 1741: First Russian ships arrived; animal trappers began fur trade 1774: Juan Perez discovered Prince of Wales Island, Dixon Sound 1784 First white settlement established at Three Saints Bay 1802: Tlinglit Indians destoyed Russian fort at Old Sitka 1804: Russians attacked Kiksadi fort on Indian River; Russians lost 1847: Fort Yukon established 1853: Russian explorers found oil in Cook Inlet 1857: Coal mining began at Coal Harbor 1861: Gold discovered in Stikine River 1867: Russia sold present-day: Alaska to United States for $7.2 million about 2 cents per acre: 1868: Alaska designated Department of Alaska 1869: Sitka Times, first Alaskan newspaper, published 1872: Gold discovered near Sitka 1874: George Halt first white man to cross Chilkoot Pass in search for gold 1876: Gold discovered south of Juneau 1882: First commercial herring fishing began 1884: Steamships began bringing tourists 1888: More than 60,000 arrived in search for gold 1897 - 1900: Klondike gold rush occurred 1900: Capital moved from Sitka to Junean; White Pass and Yukon Railroad completed 1902: President Theodore Roosevelt established Tongass National Forest 1903: Alaska-Canada border was established 1912: Mt. Katmai exploded, created Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes 1913: First Alaska Territorial Legislature convened; women granted voting rights 1914: Congress authorized construction of Alaska Railroad 1916: First bill for Alaska statehood introduced; Alaskans voted in favor of prohibition 1917: Treadwell Mine caved in 1924: Indians received U. S. citizenship; airmail delivery began 1926: 13-year old Benny Benson won contest for design of Alaska flag 1935: Matanuska Valley Project established; 900 gold mine workers struck for 40 days 1940: Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base established 1942: Japanese invaded Aleutian Islands 1943: American military forces retook Aleutian Islands from Japanese 1948: Alaska Highway opened to civilian traffic 1956: Alaska Constitution adopted 1959: Alaska became 49th state 1964: Good Friday earthquake occurred, property damage over $500 million; town of Valdez completely destroyed 1967: Chena River flooded Fairbanks 1977: Trans-Alaska pipeline completed; first oil arrived in Valdez 1980: Personal income tax repealed; Congress passed Alaska National Interests Land Conservation Act 1982: Time zones changed to include all Alaska 1985: State purchased Alaska Railroad from federal government; oil price decline caused budget problems; Libby Riddles became first woman to win Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race 1988: Two whales trapped by ice, rescued near Barrow; Anchorage population reduced by 30,000 1989: Oil tanker, Exxon Valdez, spilled 11 million gallons of oil into Prince William Sound, 1,500 miles of coastline polluted; clean-up took more than three years 1990: Over 800,000 visitors came to Alaska 1992: Alaska Highway celebrated 50th anniversary; Spurr Volanco erupted three times; dumped ashes on Anchorage; Hillary Lindh won Olympic Silver Medal in downhill skiing 1993: Chairman of Alaskan Independence Party, Joe Vogler, mysteriously disappeared 1994: $5 billion verdict in Exxon Valdez case; Tommy Moe won Olympic Gold Medal in downhill ski competition; several Koyukuk River communities washed away by flooding 1996: Fire destroyed homes and property near Big Lake 1997: High winds caused Japanese ship to go aground, spilled 39,000 gallons of fuel 2002: State study showed glaciers melting at higher rate; earthquake damaged highways and rural homes 2004: Federal judge ordered Exxon to pay $6.75 billion for 1989 oil spill 2006: British Petrolum had 267,000 gallons oil spill at Prudhoe Bay; crew rescued from cargo vessel listing by Aleutian Islands