Historic Highlights of Alaska

1725 - Danish explorer Vitus Bering is sent by Peter the Great of Russia to explore the North Pacific.

1741 - Bering and explorer Alexei Chirikov, in separate ships, site Alaska.

Naturalist Georg Steller becomes the first white man known to set foot in Alaska, on Kayak Island.
1743 - Hunts of sea otters by Russians begin, and continue until the species is nearly decimated; hunts for fur seals follow. Russians force Aleuts to participate, holding their families hostage.
1774-1794 -Exploration of Alaska continues by Spanish Naval Officer Juan Perez, who sails north from Mexico, and English Naval Captains James Cook and George Vancouver.
1784 - Russians build a settlement at Three Saints Bay, Kodiak Island.
1799 - Russian Alexander Baranov establishes a Russian post at Sitka and the Russian-American Co. begins trade operations.
1821 - The Russian-American Co. becomes the sole trading firm in Alaskan waters after Russia prohibits trade by other nations.
1824-1842 - Russian exploration extends to mainland, including the Kuskokwim, Nushagak, Yukon and Koyukuk rivers.
1847 - Hudson's Bay Co. establishes a trading post at Fort Yukon.
1849 - Russians discover coal and gold on the Kenai Peninsula.
1853 - Russian explorers and trappers find oil seeps in Cook Inlet.
1867 - U.S. purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million, with formal transfer of title Oct. 18 at Sitka.
1872 - Gold is discovered near Sitka
1878 - First salmon canneries built at Klawock and Old Sitka.
1902 - Oil production at Katalla, southeast of Cordova.
1911- Copper mining begins at Kennicott.
1912 - Alaska gains territorial status.
1914- President Woodrow Wilson okays Alaska Railroad construction.
1923 - President Warren Harding drives a golden spike to complete construction of the Alaska Railroad.
1935 - Roosevelt administration sends farmers to establish the Matanuska Valley Colony, resettling victims of the Great Depression.
1940 - Military buildup for World War II includes construction of Fort Richardson and Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage.
1942 - Bombing of Dutch Harbor, Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians by Japanese forces, who are driven from the state a year later.
1957 - Oil is discovered at Swanson River on the Kenai Peninsula.
1959 - Alaska is granted statehood effective Jan. 3, 1959.
1964 - Good Friday earthquake March 27 kills 131 people.
1967 - Alaska marks 100 years since purchase by the U.S.; Fairbanks floods.
1968 - Oil discovery at Prudhoe Bay; $900 million oil lease.
sale follows in 1969
1971 - Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act returns 40 million acres of land, plus $1 billion in payments to Alaska Natives.
1977 - Construction completed on trans-Alaska oil pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.
1980 - Legislators repeal state income tax. Legislation backed by Gov. Jay Hammond establishes a Permanent Fund for one-fourth of royalties from oil revenues for future generations, who will then get annual dividend checks from the fund.
1986 - Mount Augustine erupts in lower Cook Inlet, spreading ashes over the Anchorage bowl and other areas; World Championship Sled Dog Race is canceled for lack of snow.
1989 - Exxon Valdez runs aground in Prince William Sound, causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
1992 - Alaska marks 50th anniversary of the Alaska Highway.