List of people from Alaska explained

A

	1953	living		classical music composer
	1930	living	Fairbanks	geophysicist, aurora researcher, recently a participant in climate change debate
Baked Alaska	1987	living	Anchorage	white supremacist
	1976	living		video game designer
	1948	living		painter, sculptor
	1948	living	Kodiak	street musician, subject of the song by Soundgarden
	1948	living	Fairbanks	author self-help legal books
	1926	2020		artist expert at traditional grass weaving

B

	1983	living		MLB player for the Texas Rangers
	1970	living		sled dog racer, writer
	1877	1949		writer; one of many participants in the Nome Gold Rush and related events who became famous elsewhere (see below for other examples)
	1983	living	Anchorage	writer
	1967	living	Anchorage	actress; voice actor for Pocahontas
	1962	living	Anchorage	U.S. Senator from 2009 to 2015, Mayor from 2003 to 2009, father of Nick Begich and brother of Tom Begich
	1960	living	Anchorage	Former Minority Leader of the Alaska Senate, father of Nick Begich and brother of Mark Begich
	1913	1972	Chignik, Unalaska, Seward, Ugaiushak Island, Kodiak	designer of the Flag of Alaska
	1980	living	Juneau, Seward	major league baseball pitcher
	1926	1979	Fairbanks	painter, cartoonist
	1925	2007	Fairbanks, Kodiak	anthropologist, linguist
				romance novelist
	1955	living		writer, commentator, voice actor
	1981	living	Juneau	power forward for the Chicago Bulls who won an Olympic Bronze medal
	1971	living	Fairbanks, Homer	musician, singer-songwriter
	1983	living	Fairbanks	mixed martial artist
	1987	living	Anchorage	animation voice actress
	1993	living	Anchorage	American tech entrepreneur and media executive
	1958	living		sled dog racer
	1950	living		guitarist and songwriter best known for fronting 1980s band Jon Butcher Axis
	1954	2006		sled dog racer, four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

C

	1982	living	Anchorage, Juneau	singer-songwriter
	1984	living	Anchorage	NHL hockey player
		living		cartoonist, creator of Tundra
	1908	2002	Nome	U.S. Army lieutenant general
	1977	living	Anchorage	Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher
	1986	living	Anchorage	Miami Heat point guard who won the 2011 3-point contest
	1962	living	Anchorage	IFBB professional bodybuilder
Quinn Christopherson		living	Anchorage	singer-songwriter
	1989	living		snowboarder, 2010 Olympics team member, Alaska Native activist
	1986	living	Anchorage	trapshooter, two-time Olympic bronze medal winner in the Women's Trap
	1982	living		Miami Dolphins football player
	1976	living	Anchorage	former professional hockey player
	1899	1961	Fairbanks	early singer-songwriter, composer of "The U.S. Air Force"
	1986	living	Anchorage	San Diego Padres outfielder

D

	1927	2017	Juneau	writer
	1932	2016	Fairbanks, North Pole	geophysicist, writer
	1914	2006		printmaker
	1911	2010	Juneau, Ketchikan, Pelican, Sitka	historian, journalist, writer
	1912	2007	Anchorage, Wasilla	lawyer, civil rights activist, mother of bodybuilder Chris Dickerson
	1973	living	Anchorage	actress
	1951	2019	Nome	folklorist
	1896	1993	Nome	World War II general and hero
	1986	living	Anchorage	professional ice hockey player
	1832	1918		Anglican lay missionary, brought a group of Tsimshian Indians from Canada to Annette Island, founding Metlakatla

E

	1981	living		singer-songwriter
	1897	1929	Fairbanks	pioneering aviator

F

	1951	living	Anchorage	first female associate justice of the Alaska Supreme Court
	1920	1998	Fairbanks	artist, writer
	1975	living	Anchorage	Olympic snowboarder
	1946	living	Fairbanks	National Public Radio correspondent

G

	1969	living	Fairbanks	opera singer
	1931	1979		mountaineer, guide
	1979	living	Anchorage	Florida Panthers hockey player
	ca. 1952	living		president of Southcentral Foundation, MacArthur Fellow
	1981	living	Willow	musician, lead singer of Portugal. The Man
	1930	2021		U.S. Senator of Pentagon Papers fame
	1987	living	Eagle River	basketball player for multiple teams in both the WNBA and Australian WNBL; also played for the Australia national team
	1943	2016	Juneau	member of the Alaska House of Representatives
	1887	1974	Juneau	journalist, writer, territorial governor, U.S. Senator

H

	1924	2011	Big Delta, Fairbanks	poet, former Alaska poet laureate
	1874	1941	Metlakatla	photographer
	1972	living		San Francisco 49ers football player
	1892	1918		made the first recorded ascent of Denali
	1833	1907	Juneau	gold prospector, co-founder of Juneau
	1945	living	Juneau	writer
	1998	living		WNBA basketball player with the Chicago Sky
	1941	living		advocate for Alaska Native rights
	1756	1837		Orthodox saint
	1895	1986		painter
	1919	2010	Anchorage	industrialist, twice governor, U.S. Secretary of the Interior
	1952	living	Kodiak	fantasy fiction writer
	1980	living	Eagle River	mixed martial artist
	1956	living	Fairbanks	television actress
	1918	2003	Fairbanks	film and television actor
	1965	living	Fairbanks	blues guitarist and singer-songwriter
		living		guitarist and backing vocalist for 36 Crazyfists

J

	1834	1909	Sitka	pioneering Presbyterian missionary, educator, reindeer herder		1834	1909	Sitka	pioneering Presbyterian missionary, educator, reindeer herder
	2004	living	Anchorage, Seward^[1]	swimmer, 2020 Summer Olympics team member^[2] ^[3]
	1964	living	Fairbanks	Latin rock musician
	1965	living	Anchorage	actress
	1990	living	Wasilla	former partner of Bristol Palin and celebrity news personality
	1971	living	Kenai	consumer technology journalist and TV broadcaster
	1918	2008		last speaker of the Eyak language
	1953	living		sled dog racer
	1836	1899	Juneau	gold prospector, co-founder and namesake of Juneau

K

	1882	1960	Nome	sled dog racer
	1911	1993	Kenai Peninsula	ethnographer, writer
		living		writer
	1926	2006	Anchorage	painter
	1974	living	Homer	singer-songwriter, actress
	1956	living		sled dog racer
	1982	living	Fairbanks	writer
	1991	living	Anchorage	Olympic cross-country skier
	1934	2019	Fairbanks	linguist
Cy Kuckenbaker		living		filmmaker
	1982	living	Anchorage	Denver Broncos offensive guard
	1962	living		memoirist
	1960	living	Anchorage	major league baseball outfielder

L

	1976	living	Anchorage	retired basketball player, most notably the Cleveland Cavaliers and CSKA Moscow
	1865	1950	Anchorage, Cordova, Fairbanks, Valdez	businessman, one of the strongest Alaskan opponents of statehood
	1865	1940		landscape painter
	1875	1971		explorer and geologist
	1969	living	Juneau	alpine ski racer
	1906	1989		Jesuit priest, elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1960, becoming the first Catholic priest to serve in a U.S. state legislature; also a widely published writer on Alaska in his native Spain

M

	1908	2002		painter
		living		sled dog racer, early winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
	1970	2022^[4]		sled dog racer, four time Yukon Quest and four time Iditarod winner
Edna Ahgeak MacLean	1944	living	Utqiaġvik, Sitka, Anchorage, Fairbanks	an Iñupiaq linguist, anthropologist and educator specializing in the preservation and revitalization of the Iñupiaq language.
	1979	living		model, television personality
	1906	1952		actor, cinematographer
	1938	living	Anchorage, Homer	the third Libertarian to be elected to a U.S. state legislature (all from Alaska to that point), later became the party's vice presidential and presidential nominee
	1869	1932	Saxman, Metlakatla, Sitka	Tsimshian Presbyterian missionary and activist, first Alaska Native to be ordained
	1901	1939		wilderness activist, writer; wrote Arctic Village about his experiences in Wiseman
	1982	living	Fairbanks	mixed martial artist
	1979	2007		strongman competitor
	1946	1981	Anchorage	photographer, adventurer; committed suicide when stranded in the wilderness in northern Alaska
	1942	2011	Anchorage	country music singer-songwriter
	1897	1988	Anchorage, Seward	pioneering aviator
	1985	living	Juneau	pairs figure skater
	1894	1929	Anchorage, Ketchikan	pioneering aviator
	1981	living	Anchorage	comedian, writer, and actor
	1970	living	Girdwood, Palmer, Wasilla	skier, gold medal winner at the 1994 Winter Olympics
	1946	2012		poet, writer
	1970	living	Fairbanks	singer, most notably with Exposé
	1970	living	Homer	blogger, political activist
	1954	living	Anchorage	actor, 24
	1974	living	Juneau	actor, singer
	1902	2003	Fairbanks	"grandmother of the conservation movement"
	1933	living		U.S. Senator from 1981 to 2002, Governor from 2002 to 2006, father of Lisa Murkowski
	1957	living		U.S. Senator who was reelected as a write-in candidate in 2010, daughter of Frank Murkowski

N

1802

1864

Atka, Sitka

Orthodox saint

O

	1965	living	Anchorage	astronaut
	1938	living		landscape architect
	1946	living		militia activist

• Rashard Odomes (born 1996), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

P

	1921	1989	Wasilla	co-founder of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
	1990	living	Wasilla	daughter of Sarah and Todd Palin, former contestant on Dancing with the Stars
	1964	living	Eagle River, Skagway, Wasilla	youngest and first female governor, 2008 Republican nominee for U.S. vice president
	1964	living	Dillingham, Wasilla	ex-husband of Sarah Palin, champion snowmobile racer
Rudy Pankow	1998	living	Ketchikan, Alaska	actor, most notably on the Netflix original, Outer Banks.
	1916	1984		cartoonist
	1885	1977	Tongass Village, Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau	Native rights activist, first Alaska Native attorney
	1973	living		U.S. Representative, former Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
	1911	1958	Juneau, Ketchikan, Klawock, Petersburg, Sitka	civil rights activist
		ca. 1815	Kodiak	Orthodox saint
	1940	2020		sled dog racer, early winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
	1965	living		president of the University of Alaska system, 1984 Olympic gold medalist
	1963	living	Anchorage
	1969	living	Fairbanks	blogger, political commentator
	1985	living	Fairbanks	pornographic actress

R

	1982	living	Anchorage	Olympic gold medalist cross-country skier
	1982	living	Anchorage	professional tenpin bowler
	1917	1999		sled dog racer, co-founder of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
	1902	1980	Anchorage, Valdez	pioneering aviator
	1861	1929	Valdez	Army officer, headed Alaska Roads Commission
	1870	1929	Juneau, Nome	Old West figure, boxing promoter; lived in Nome during the height of its gold rush, served on the first city council
	1956	living		sled dog racer, first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
	ca. 1958	living	Anchorage	journalist, singer-songwriter, writer
	1981	living	Anchorage	pop singer
	1942	living	Juneau	violinist, founder of the Sitka Summer Music Festival
	1856	1942	Sitka	Episcopal bishop
	1983	living	Anchorage	professional ice hockey player

S

	1968	living	Anchorage	co-founder of Wikipedia
	1966	living	Anchorage	professional baseball player
	1986	living	Anchorage	professional baseball player
	1966	living	Anchorage	professional football player, analyst for ESPN
	1967	living	Anchorage	astrophysicist, 2011 Nobel Prize laureate in Physics
	1959	living		sled dog racer
	1839	1886	Juneau, Nulato, Sitka	pioneering Catholic missionary
	1933	2020		silversmith, sculptor
	1877	1967	Fairbanks, Nome	sled dog racer, key musher in the 1925 serum run to Nome
	1940	living	Anchorage, Fairbanks	Alaska poet laureate
	1943	1996	Anchorage	film producer
	1871	1947	Metlakatla, Sitka	Native rights activist and boatbuilder
	ca. 1965	living	Fairbanks	cartoonist, printmaker
		living		theater director
	1860	1898	Skagway	con artist, gangster
	1985	living	Anchorage	professional football player
	1952	living	Anchorage, Seldovia	writer
	1971	living		television actress
	1959	living	Anchorage, Fairbanks, Girdwood	Chief of Staff to the Governor of Alaska, Alaskan State Senate President
	1923	2010	Anchorage, Fairbanks, Girdwood	longest-serving U.S. Senator from Alaska, Pres. pro tempore of U.S. Senate, father of Ben Stevens.
	1924	2010	Anchorage	Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; professor at University of Alaska Anchorage, author of Extreme Conditions
	1856	1929	Iditarod, Juneau, Katalla, Nome, Skagway	founder of what is now Juneau Empire, territorial governor
	1890	1963	Juneau	convicted killer known as "The Birdman of Alcatraz"
	1943	living		president of Seattle University
	1998	living	Anchorage	ice hockey goaltender
	1950	living		sled dog racer
	1950	living	Anchorage, Palmer, Talkeetna	Green Party politician

T

	1989	living	Anchorage	actor, rapper
	1923	2016	Anchorage, Talkeetna	son of and collaborator with Lowell Thomas; bush pilot, film maker, lecturer, politician, writer
	1939	2000	Fairbanks, Tanana	Alaska Native leader, business executive
	1984	living	Anchorage	professional ice hockey player
	1954	living	Ketchikan	artist, musician
	1979	living	Palmer	Attorney and politician

U

1975

living

Anchorage

media personality; her father was an Anchorage business magnate of the 1970s and 1980s who founded Anchorage's cable television system

V

	1925	1986	Juneau, Ketchikan	Korean War hero
	1969	2021	Fairbanks	mixed martial artist
	1905	2005		explorer, dog musher
	1913	1993	Fairbanks, Kodiak	gold miner and secessionist advocate, became folk hero following his murder

W

	ca. 1872	1937	Barrow, Fairbanks, Nome	adventurer
	1960	living		writer
	1978	living	Anchorage	actor
	1947	living		writer, musician, commentator, satirist
	1857	1939	Eagle, Fairbanks, Juneau	judge and congressional delegate in the district and territory, made an early recorded ascent of Mount McKinley, compiled an important early bibliography of Alaska
	1899	1977		pioneering aviator
		living	Anchorage	ultra-endurance bicycle racer
	1979	living	Anchorage	professional baseball player
	1901	1959		writer
	1916	1978	Iditarod, Kodiak	singer and actor in Broadway musicals
	1937	living	Anchorage	educator; vice-chancellor University of Alaska Anchorage, 1978–1985
	1901	1995		first secretary of state of Alaska

Y

1847

1927

Presbyterian missionary, wilderness companion of John Muir

People associated with Alaska

• Edward Albee (1928–2016), main person responsible for building the Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez to the status it has currently achieved
• Henry Tureman Allen (1859–1930), U.S. Army officer who conducted a famous expedition of Alaska's interior in 1885, largely through the Copper and Tanana River drainages
• Roald Amundsen (1872–1928), frequently passed through Alaska in his travels
• Hubert Howe Bancroft (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 (1681–1741), made the first recorded European sighting of Alaska
• Hale Boggs (1914–1972), member of the U.S. House from Louisiana, who disappeared on a flight in Alaska along with freshman colleague Nick Begich while helping Begich campaign for reelection
• Jackson Browne (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. (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 at the University of Alaska 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 (1728–1779), British explorer whose voyages included several trips along Alaska's coastline
• William Healey Dall (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 before going on to a long career with the Dallas Mavericks, both as a player and in other capacities
• Edna Ferber (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 (born 1946), captain of the Exxon Valdez when it ran aground and spilled oil in 1989
• Michael A. Healy (1839–1904), captain of the USRC Corwin and USRC Bear when they were the only law enforcement presence north of Sitka
• Eric Holmback (1924–1965), professional wrestler 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) and King Kong Bundy (while wrestling in Texas during the early 1980s), also portrayed wrestling personas associated with Alaska.
• Michio Hoshino (1952–1996), photographer
• Jack London (1876–1916), writer
• Christopher McCandless (1968–1992), hiker, ad hoc adventurer
• John Muir (1838–1914), writer, explorer, naturalist; made and wrote about several trips to Alaska; explored Glacier Bay
• Wiley Post (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 (1924–2017), longtime member of the U.S. House representing Canton, Ohio, the hometown of William McKinley. 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.
• Will Rogers (1879–1935), actor and humorist, died in a plane crash in Alaska along with Wiley Post while making a flight through the territory
• Robert W. Service (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 (1879–1962), frequently passed through Alaska in his travels
• Timothy Treadwell (1957–2003), bear enthusiast
• Naomi Uemura (1941–1984), adventurer, mountain climber, died while attempting a solo ascent of Mount McKinley
• Bradford Washburn (1910–2007), mountaineer, geographer
• Cal Worthington (1920–2013), purchased Anchorage dealership Friendly Ford 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
• List of lieutenant governors of Alaska
• List of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska
• List of mayors of Cordova, Alaska
• List of mayors of Fairbanks, Alaska
• List of mayors of Juneau, Alaska
• List of speakers of the Alaska House of Representatives
• List of United States senators from Alaska
• United States congressional delegations from Alaska

Others

• List of Alaskan aviators
• List of Alaska suffragists
• List of Alaskan Hall of Fame pilots
• List of athletes from Alaska
• List of justices of the Alaska Supreme Court

Notes and References

1. Helminiak, Jeff (November 22, 2020). “Improving through challenging times: Seward junior swimmer Jacoby wins national title at U.S. Open“. Peninsula Clarion. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
2. OlympicTalk (June 15, 2021). "For the first time, an Alaskan is in line to swim at the Olympics". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
3. Crouse, Karen (June 21, 2021). "U.S. Swim Team Will Take 11 Teenagers to Tokyo Games". The New York Times. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
4. Web site: Hollander . Zaz . Hughes . Zachariah . Bieri . Chris . September 11, 2022 . Alaska mushing legend Lance Mackey, 4-time Iditarod champ, dies at age 52 . 2023-01-02 . Anchorage Daily News . en.