Alaska History

Brief History
The following important events in the history of Alaska affected political boundaries, record keeping, and family movements.


 * 1741: Discovered by Vertus Bering, a Dane working for Russia.
 * 1783: Russian fur traders established the first white settlement on Kodiak Island.
 * 1799: Sitka was permanently founded by the Russians. It served as Alaska's capital until 1906, when the capital was moved to Juneau.
 * 1804: Sitka was permanently founded by the Russians. It served as Alaska's capital until 1906, when the capital was moved to Juneau.
 * 1824-1828: In treaties with the United States and Great Britain, Russia agreed to recognize latitude 54° 40 N as Alaska's southern boundary and longitude 141° W as the eastern boundary. Further boundary adjustments between Alaska and British Columbia were made in 1903.
 * 1867: (October 18)The United States purchased Alaska from Russia.
 * 1884: Congress passed the first Organic Act, providing a governor and federal courts for Alaska. May 17, 1867 Alaska became a territory.
 * 1896: The Klondike gold strike started a rush to the Canadian Yukon Territory. Gold was discovered at Nome in 1899 and at Fairbanks in 1902.
 * 1912: Congress passed the second Organic Act, establishing Alaska as a U.S. territory and providing for a territorial legislature.
 * 1959: (January 3,) Alaska became a state.

State Histories Useful to Genealogists
An especially helpful source for studying the history of Alaska is William R. Hunt, Alaska: A Bicentennial History.

The Gold Rush

 * Finding your Gold Rush Realitive
 * Site offers historic information on the discovery of gold, traveling to the gold fields, gold mining, daily life, gold rush stories and more:Alaska's Gold.

Web Sites

 * Alaska History
 * Alaska History and Cultural Studies
 * Information about Alaska
 * Kodiak Island Timeline
 * Ship Wrecks off Alaska's Coast has a list of ship wrecks occuring in Alaska from the earliest times (1741) to the present