Seward's Day is a legal holiday in the U.S. state of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. This holiday falls on the last Monday in March and commemorates the signing of the

Alaska Purchase The Alaska Purchase was the purchase of Russian colonization of North America, Alaska from the Russian Empire by the United States for a sum of $7.2 million in 1867 (equivalent to $ million in ). On May 15 of that year, the United St ...

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

on March 30, 1867. It is named for then- Secretary of State William H. Seward, who negotiated the purchase from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. It was declared a holiday in the Territory of Alaska on March 30, 1917. It should not be confused with Alaska Day, which marks the formal transfer of control over Alaska from Russia to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

References

Annual events in Alaska March observances Monday observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) State holidays in the United States {{Alaska-stub