Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 26, 2005



The history of Alaska dates back to the Paleolithic Era when it was inhabited by people who crossed the Bering Land Bridge in western Alaska. At the time of European contact by the Russian explorers, the area was populated by the Eskimos and a variety of Native American groups. Vitus Bering, a Danish navigator in the service of the Russian Navy aboard the St. Peter, is often credited with the discovery of Alaska. William H. Seward, the U.S. Secretary of State engineered the Alaskan purchase on April 9, 1867 for US$7.2 million (approximately US$90 million in 2005 dollars). The nearby Yukon Territory in Canada and Alaska itself were the site of a gold rush in the 19th century, and they remained a significant source of mining even after gold reserves diminished. On July 7, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act into law which paved the way for Alaska's admission into the Union as the 49th State on January 3, 1959.

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