| Moose may not be viewed from an airplane. While it is legal to shoot bears,
waking a bear for the purpose of taking a photo is prohibited. It is the state policy that emergencies are held to a minimum
and are rarely found to exist. -Sec. 44.62.270. State policy. It is considered an offense to push a live moose out of a moving airplane.
( A little known incident at the Talkeetna Moose Dropping Festival Perhaps ) | | |
- Organized as territory: 1912
- Admission to Statehood: January 3, 1959
- State Holidays:
Alaska Day - October 18. Anniversary of the formal transfer of the Territory and the raising of the U.S. flag at Sitka in 1867.
Seward's Day - Last Monday in March. Commemorates the signing
of the treaty by which the United States bought Alaska from Russia. - Area Code: 907
- Alaska Nickname: The Last Frontier
- Origin of state's name:
Based on an Aleut word "alaxsxaq" literally meaning "object toward which the action of the sea is directed" or more simply "the mainland". - Population: 626,932 (The first official census in 1880 showed 33,426 Alaskans, all but 430 being Natives
- Alaska Flag:
Alaska adopted the flag for official state use in 1959. The blue field represents the sky, the sea, and mountain lakes, as well as Alaska's wildflowers. Emblazoned on the flag are eight gold stars: seven in the constellation Ursa Major, or the Big Dipper. The eighth being the North Star, representing the northern most state.
- Alaska's Song:
Written by: Marie Drake ©The University of Alaska
Eight stars of gold on a field of blue --
Alaska's flag. May it mean to you
The blue of the sea, the evening sky,
The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby;
The gold of the early sourdough dreams,
The precious gold of the hills and streams;
The brilliant stars in the northern sky,
The Bear--the Dipper-- and, shining high,
the great North Star with its steady light,
Over land and sea a beacon bright.
Alaska's flag--to Alaskans dear,
The simple flag of a last frontier. A Native lad chose the Dipper's stars
For Alaska's flag that there be no bars
Among our culture. Let it be known
Through years the Native's past has grown
To share life's treasures, hand in hand,
to keep Alaska our Great-Land;
We love the northern midnight sky,
the mountains, lakes and streams nearby.
The great North Star with its steady light
will guide all cultures, clear and bright,
with nature's flag to Alaskan's dear,
the simple flag of the last frontier.
(Verse 2 by Carol Beery Davis. 1986)
©The University of Alaska
- State Symbols:
- Flower Forget Me Not Myosotis alpestris (1949)
- Tree Sitka spruce (1962)
- Bird willow ptarmigan (1955)
- Fish king salmon (1962)
- Song “Alaska's Flag” (1955)
- Gem jade (1968)
- Marine mammal Bowhead Whale (1983)
- Fossil woolly mammoth (1986)
- Mineral gold (1968)
- Sport dog mushing (1972)
- Famous Alaskans
Aleksandr Baranov trader, public official, Russia (photo)
Margaret Elizabeth Bell author
Benny Benson designed state flag at age 13, Chignik
Vitus Bering explorer, Denmark
Charles E. Bunnell educator
William A. Egan first state governor
Charles E. Bunnell educator;
Susan Butcher sled-dog racer;
Carl Ben Eielson pioneer pilot
Henry E. Gruennig political leader
B. Frank Heintzleman territorial governor
Walter J. Hickel former governor
Sheldon Jackson educator and missionary, Minaville, NY
Joe Juneau prospector
Austin Lathrop industrialist
Sydney Lawrence painter
John Griffith (Jack) London author, San Francisco, CA
Ray Mala actor ( Son of Fury 1942 )
John Muir naturalist, explorer, Scotland
Virgil F. Partch cartoonist, better known as VIP, Born in Alaska in 1916
Joe Redington, Sr. sled-dog musher and promoter
Chad Carpenter cartoonist
Peter Trinble Rowe first Episcopal bishop
Ivan Popov-Veniaminov (St. Innocent) Russian Orthodox missionary Ferdinand Wrangel educator
Samuel Hall Young founder of first American church. - Famous People in Alaska
Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan met in Fairbanks on May 2, 1984
http://www.reagan.utexas.edu/resource/speeches/1984/50284a.htm
Emperior Hirohito and President Richard Nixon met at Elmendorf AFB in 1967 
The Beatles were forced to land at Anchorage International
airport after a storm prevented them from flying to Japan for a concert at Budokan. They spent 1 night in the Cpt. Cook Hotel.
Mention of the visit can be found in the Beatles Anthology
- Alaska License Plates:
| -
Capital: Juneau -
Governor: Frank H. Murkowski, R -
Lieut. Governor: Fran Ulmer, D -
Senators: -
Constitution ratified: April 24, 1956 | |
