List Of People From Alaska
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This is a list of notable people from
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., ...
. This list includes individuals who were born in Alaska, grew up there, retired there, or in any other fashion lived there, even if for only a brief period of time. *Key to table entries: **Name **Year born **Year died **Communities lived in in Alaska **Noted for


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* Rashard Odomes (born 1996), basketball player in the
Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...


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People associated with Alaska

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Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (1966) ...
(1928–2016), main person responsible for building the
Last Frontier Theatre Conference Renamed in 2021, the Valdez Theatre Conference is an annual conference on Theatre, American Theatre held in Valdez, Alaska, Valdez, Alaska that focuses on playwrighting. Continually held each year since 1993, the conference puts out a call for play ...
in Valdez to the status it has currently achieved *
Henry Tureman Allen Major General Henry Tureman Allen (April 13, 1859 – August 29, 1930) was a senior United States Army officer known for exploring the Copper River in Alaska in 1885 along with the Tanana and Koyukuk rivers by transversing of wilderness. His tr ...
(1859–1930), U.S. Army officer who conducted a famous expedition of Alaska's interior in 1885, largely through the
Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
and
Tanana River The Tanana River (Lower Tanana: Tth'eetoo', Upper Tanana: ''Tth’iitu’ Niign'') is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright, the name is from the Koyukon (Athabaskan) ...
drainages *
Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amundsen bega ...
(1872–1928), frequently passed through Alaska in his travels *
Hubert Howe Bancroft Hubert Howe Bancroft (May 5, 1832 – March 2, 1918) was an American historian and ethnologist who wrote, published and collected works concerning the western United States, Texas, California, Alaska, Mexico, Central America and British Columbi ...
(1832–1918), whose 19th-century published history of Alaska, part of a larger series, formed an important foundation for later study of Alaskan history * Alexander Baranof (1746–1819) *
Vitus Bering Vitus Jonassen Bering (baptised 5 August 1681 – 19 December 1741),All dates are here given in the Julian calendar, which was in use throughout Russia at the time. also known as Ivan Ivanovich Bering, was a Danish cartographer and explorer in ...
(1681–1741), made the first recorded European sighting of Alaska *
Hale Boggs Thomas Hale Boggs Sr. (February 15, 1914 – disappeared October 16, 1972; declared dead December 29, 1972) was an American Democratic politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the House ma ...
(1914–1972), member of the U.S. House from Louisiana, who disappeared on a flight in Alaska along with freshman colleague
Nick Begich Nicholas Joseph Begich Sr. (born April 6, 1932 – disappeared October 16, 1972; declared dead December 29, 1972) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Alaska. He is presumed to hav ...
while helping Begich campaign for reelection *
Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...
(born 1948), stated in a 1980s interview that he was conceived in Alaska, while his father was stationed there in the U.S. military *
Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. ( ; July 18, 1886 – June 18, 1945) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army during World War II who served in the Pacific Theater. As commanding general of Alaska Defense Command, Buckner commanded America ...
(1886–1945), military commander of Alaska early in World War II * Sydney Chapman (1888–1970), mathematician and geophysicist; Advisory Scientific Director of the
Geophysical Institute The Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks conducts research into space physics and aeronomy; atmospheric sciences; snow, ice, and permafrost; seismology; volcanology; and tectonics and sedimentation. It was founded in 1946 by ...
at 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 ...
from 1951 until his death, where he was largely responsible for building the programs and reputation of the Institute in its early years *
James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
(1728–1779), British explorer whose voyages included several trips along Alaska's coastline *
William Healey Dall William Healey Dall (August 21, 1845 – March 27, 1927) was an American naturalist, a prominent malacologist, and one of the earliest scientific explorers of interior Alaska. He described many mollusks of the Pacific Northwest of America, and w ...
(1845–1927), biologist, hydrographer; explored interior Alaska, charted the Aleutians; America's pre-eminent authority on Alaska 1866–1900 * Brad Davis (born 1955), played briefly for the
Anchorage Northern Knights The Anchorage Northern Knights were a professional basketball team based in Anchorage, Alaska from 1977 to 1982. The team played in the Eastern Basketball Association (EBA) during the 1977–78 season. The next season, the league changed its name t ...
before going on to a long career with the
Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference (NBA), Western Conferenc ...
, both as a player and in other capacities *
Edna Ferber Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), ''Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' Cim ...
(1885–1968), friend of Ernest Gruening; following the success of ''Giant'', was convinced by Gruening to write ''Ice Palace'' as a tool to promote Alaskan statehood *
Joseph Hazelwood Joseph Jeffrey Hazelwood (September 24, 1946 – ) was an American sailor. He was the captain of ''Exxon Valdez'' during her 1989 oil spill. He was accused of being intoxicated which contributed to the disaster, but was cleared of this charge ...
(born 1946), captain of the ''
Exxon Valdez ''Oriental Nicety'', formerly ''Exxon Valdez'', ''Exxon Mediterranean'', ''SeaRiver Mediterranean'', ''S/R Mediterranean'', ''Mediterranean'', and ''Dong Fang Ocean'', was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince Wil ...
'' when it ran aground and spilled oil in 1989 *
Michael A. Healy Michael Augustine Healy (September 22, 1839 – August 30, 1904) was an American career officer with the United States Revenue Cutter Service (predecessor of the United States Coast Guard), reaching the rank of captain. He has been recognized s ...
(1839–1904), captain of the USRC ''Corwin'' and USRC ''Bear'' when they were the only law enforcement presence north of Sitka *
Eric Holmback Eric Holmback (April 16, 1916 – January 16, 1965) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Yukon Eric. Holmback spent the majority of his career in Southern Ontario, Canada, where he won the NWA Canadian Open Tag T ...
(1924–1965),
professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
of the 1950s and 1960s known as "Yukon Eric," was billed (declared by the promoter and/or ring announcer as hailing) from Fairbanks. Other wrestlers, such as Jay York (who was also briefly a member of the rock group
Delaney & Bonnie Delaney & Bonnie were an American duo of singer-songwriters Delaney Bramlett and Bonnie Bramlett. In 1969 and 1970, they fronted a rock/soul ensemble, Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, whose members at different times included Duane Allman, Gregg Al ...
) and
King Kong Bundy Christopher Alan Pallies (November 7, 1955 – March 5, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, actor and stand-up comedian, better known by his wrestling gimmick and ring name, King Kong Bundy. Under this gimmick, he portrayed a pugnacious, ...
(while wrestling in Texas during the early 1980s), also portrayed wrestling personas associated with Alaska. *
Michio Hoshino was a Japanese-born nature photographer. He originally hailed from Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. Considered one of the most accomplished nature photographers of his era and compared to Ansel Adams, Hoshino specialized in photographing Alaskan wild ...
(1952–1996), photographer *
Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
(1876–1916), writer *
Christopher McCandless Christopher Johnson McCandless (; February 12, 1968 – August 1992), also known by his pseudonym "Alexander Supertramp", was an American adventurer who sought an increasingly nomadic lifestyle as he grew up. McCandless is the subject of '' Int ...
(1968–1992), hiker, ad hoc adventurer *
John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, a ...
(1838–1914), writer, explorer, naturalist; made and wrote about several trips to Alaska; explored Glacier Bay *
Wiley Post Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was a famed American aviator during the interwar period and the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high-altitude flying, Post helped develop one ...
(1898–1935), aviator who died in a plane crash in Alaska along with Will Rogers (see below) while making a flight through the territory *
Ralph Regula Ralph Straus Regula (December 3, 1924 – July 19, 2017) was an American politician from Ohio. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the Ohio House of Representatives, the Ohio State Senate and the United States House of Representatives. ...
(1924–2017), longtime member of the
U.S. House The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
representing
Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...
, the hometown of
William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...
. Regula devoted much of his career to preserving McKinley's legacy, and maintained a decades–long effort in Congress to prevent the renaming of Mount McKinley to its native name
Denali Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thir ...
. *
Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...
(1879–1935), actor and humorist, died in a plane crash in Alaska along with
Wiley Post Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was a famed American aviator during the interwar period and the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high-altitude flying, Post helped develop one ...
while making a flight through the territory *
Robert W. Service Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a British-Canadian poet and writer, often called "the Bard of the Yukon". The middle name 'William' was in honour of a rich uncle. When that uncle neglected to provide for hi ...
(1874–1958), due to influence from Gold Rush migration across the North Country, Service became Alaskans' most well–loved poet, despite actually living in the Yukon Territory. *
Vilhjalmur Stefansson Vilhjalmur Stefansson (November 3, 1879 – August 26, 1962) was an Arctic explorer and ethnologist. He was born in Manitoba, Canada. Early life Stefansson, born William Stephenson, was born at Arnes, Manitoba, Canada, in 1879. His parents had ...
(1879–1962), frequently passed through Alaska in his travels *
Timothy Treadwell Timothy Treadwell (born Timothy William Dexter; April 29, 1957 – October 5, 2003) was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of the bear-protection organization Grizzly People. He lived among coasta ...
(1957–2003), bear enthusiast *
Naomi Uemura was a Japanese adventurer who was known particularly for his solo exploits. For example, he was the first person to reach the North Pole solo, the first person to raft the Amazon solo, and the first person to climb Denali solo. He disappeared a ...
(1941–1984), adventurer, mountain climber, died while attempting a solo ascent of
Mount McKinley Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the thir ...
*
Bradford Washburn Henry Bradford Washburn Jr. (June 7, 1910 – January 10, 2007) was an American explorer, mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer. He established the Boston Museum of Science, served as its director from 1939–1980, and from 1985 until his d ...
(1910–2007), mountaineer, geographer *
Cal Worthington Calvin Coolidge Worthington (November 27, 1920 – September 8, 2013) was an American car dealer, best known on the West Coast of the United States, and to a more limited extent elsewhere, from minor appearances and parodies in a number of movi ...
(1920–2013), purchased Anchorage dealership Friendly
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
in 1976 and renamed it Cal Worthington Ford, which his company still owns and operates along with other Anchorage dealerships. He has been a ubiquitous figure on Anchorage television for decades, as well as the subject of parodies and other cultural depictions originating from Alaska.


See also


Elected officials

*
List of governors of Alaska The governor of Alaska (Iñupiaq language, Iñupiaq: ''Alaaskam kavanaa'') is the head of government of Alaska. The governor is the chief executive of the state and is the holder of the highest office in the executive branch of the government as ...
*
List of lieutenant governors of Alaska The lieutenant governor of Alaska is the deputy elected official to the governor of the U.S. state of Alaska. Unlike most lieutenant governors in the U.S., the office also maintains the duties of a secretary of state, and indeed was named such ...
*
List of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska This is a list of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Anchorage was incorporated as a city on November 23, 1920. The Greater Anchorage Area Borough, which encompassed the city, was created in January 1964. The two were merged in a unifie ...
*
List of mayors of Cordova, Alaska This is a list of mayors of Cordova in the state of Alaska in the United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. I ...
*
List of mayors of Fairbanks, Alaska The following provides a listing of the individuals who have served as mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska, as well as the ten mayors of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, a county equivalent which includes the city. Fairbanks, a home rule in the United S ...
*
List of mayors of Juneau, Alaska Juneau, Alaska, presently incorporated as a unified home rule municipality called the City and Borough of Juneau, was designated the capital of Alaska on June 6, 1900. The organic act passed by the U.S. Congress which established Juneau as the c ...
* List of speakers of the Alaska House of Representatives *
List of United States senators from Alaska Alaska was admitted to the Union on January 3, 1959. Alaska's United States Senate seats belong to Class 2 and Class 3. The state's current senators are Republicans Lisa Murkowski (serving since 2002) and Dan Sullivan (serving since 2015). A tot ...
*
United States congressional delegations from Alaska Since Alaska became a U.S. state in 1959, it has sent congressional delegations to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Each state elects two senators to serve for six years, and member(s) of the House to two-year ...


Others

* List of Alaskan aviators *
List of Alaska suffragists This is a list of Alaska suffragists, suffrage groups and others associated with the cause of women's suffrage in Alaska. Groups * Alaska Native Brotherhood, formed in 1912. * Alaska Native Sisterhood, formed in 1915. *National American Woman ...
*
List of Alaskan Hall of Fame pilots Following is an alphabetical list of inductees into the Alaska Aviation Heritage Museum's Alaska Aviation Hall of Fame. * Arthur Gordon "Art" Woodley Alaska Aviation Hall of Fame * Bob and Marge Baker - Alaska Aviation Hall of Fame, 2021 Aviati ...
*
List of athletes from Alaska This list indexes notable sportsperson, athletes from Alaska. * John Baker (musher), John Baker (b. 1960 or 1961 in Kotzebue), a perennial top 10 finisher at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. *Damen Bell-Holter (b. 1990 in Hydaburg) is an American ...
*
List of justices of the Alaska Supreme Court This is a list of persons who have served as justices of the Alaska Supreme Court. List of justices Chief justices The Supreme Court had only one chief justice, Buell Nesbett, during its first decade of existence. Alaska voters approved a consti ...


References

{{Lists of people by U.S. state