(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 destroyed 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 Juneau; 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