Edith Rose Bullock (April 4, 1903 – May 8, 1994) was an American businesswoman and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

active in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

during its territorial and early statehood eras. She was named "Alaskan of the Year" in 1979, making her the first woman to be given the title. Bullock was also the first woman to be named to the Alaska Chamber of Commerce. In 2009, she was named to the inaugural induction class of the

Alaska Women's Hall of Fame The Alaska Women's Hall of Fame (AWHF) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Alaska for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. It was conceived by the board of directors of the Alaska Women's Network (AWN) i ...

Early life and work

Edith Bullock was born in

Red Lodge, Montana Red Lodge is a city and county seat of Carbon County, Montana, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,257. History On September 17, 1851, the United States government signed a treaty with the Crow Nation, cedin ...

and grew up in Everett and

Prosser Prosser may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places ;United States * Prosser, California, a former settlement * Prosser Creek, California * Prosser, Nebraska, a village * Prosser, Washington, a city ;Australia * Electoral division of Prosser, Tasmania * Prosser ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. She came to the

territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the ...

in 1939, initially settling in Nome. In 1951, she co-founded the B & R Tug and Barge Company in

Kotzebue Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the County seat, borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska en ...

. She would manage, and then be president of, the company. It became the largest firm of its type located north of the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

.Archives and Manuscripts, Alaska and Polar Regions Collections, University of Alaska Fairbanks. She served in the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives and the Alaska Territorial Senate, as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. She served the terms of 1953-1956 in the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives and then served in the Alaska Territorial Senate in 1957-1958. She also became the first woman to serve on the Alaska Chamber of Commerce. Bullock received the William A. Egan Outstanding Alaskan award in 1967. From 1967 until 1975, she was on the Board of Regents for the

University of Alaska The University of Alaska System is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Alaska. It was created in 1917 and comprises three separately accredited universities on 19 campuses. The system serves nearly 30,000 full- and part-time stud ...

. The following year she was given an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

by the University of Alaska. In 1969, she sold B & R Tug and Barge to a

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

-based company, on whose board of directors she would become a member, and moved to

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

. In 1979, she was named "Alaskan of the Year." She was the first woman to be given the title.

Later life and legacy

Artwork collected by Bullock resides in the collection of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. The

awards the Edith R. Bullock Prize for Excellence Winner each year. Her papers are held in the collection of the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public land-grant research university in College, Alaska, a suburb of Fairbanks. It is the flagship campus of the University of Alaska system. UAF was established in 1917 and opened for cla ...

. She was named to the

in 2009.

References

External links

Edith Bullock
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bullock, Edith 1903 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American politicians Alaska Republicans American transportation businesspeople Businesspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Members of the Alaska Territorial Legislature Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska People from Prosser, Washington People from Red Lodge, Montana Politicians from Everett, Washington People from Nome, Alaska People from Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska University of Alaska regents Women territorial legislators in Alaska 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American women politicians