Alaska Timeline of Events

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Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

Timeline of Events

1741

7.15.1741

Alexei Chirikov sights land in Southeast Alaska. He sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska.

1784

10.22.1784

Russia founds a colony on Kodiak Island, Alaska.

1788

6.11.1788

Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska.

1867

3.30.1867

Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2 cent/acre ($4.19/km²), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward. The media call this Seward's Folly.

4.9.1867

Alaska purchase: Passing by a single vote, the United States Senate ratifies a treaty with Russia for the purchase of Alaska.

10.18.1867

United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million. Celebrated annually in the state as Alaska Day.

1909

11.13.1909

''Collier's magazine'' accuses United States Secretary of the Interior Richard Ballinger of questionable dealings in Alaskan coal fields.

1912

6.6.1912

The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska begins. It is the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.

8.24.1912

Alaska becomes a United States territory.

1925

2.25.1925

Glacier Bay National Monument (now Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve) is established in Alaska.

1942

6.7.1942

World War II: Japanese soldiers occupy the American islands of Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska.

1957

3.9.1957

A magnitude 8.3 earthquake in the Andreanof Islands, Alaska triggers a Pacific-wide tsunami causing extensive damage to Hawaii and Oahu.

1959

1.3.1959

Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. State.

7.4.1959

With the admission of Alaska as the 49th U.S. state earlier in the year, the 49-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1989

3.24.1989

Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the ''Exxon Valdez'' spills 240,000 barrels (42,000 m³) of petroleum after running aground.

1991

3.13.1991

The United States Department of Justice announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

1992

9.6.1992

Hunters discover the emaciated body of Christopher Johnson McCandless at his camp convert 20 west of the town of Healy, Alaska.

2006

9.17.2006

Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupts, marking the first eruption for the long-dormant volcano in at least 10,000 years.