Famous People from Alaska

Alaska is the 49th state of the United States of America and has evolved from being an undeveloped state to one of the major contributors to the US economy. Today, it boasts of more than 5 times the jobs it had 50 years ago and a much more prosperous population. During the 1970s and 1980s, Alaska witnessed an unprecedented development phase due to which its population thrived. Earlier people who lacked facilities, now progressed in all aspects of life. Famous people from Alaska who were and are still a subject of public interest are listed below.

Irene Bedard
Irene Bedard is a famous American actress born and brought up in Anchorage, Alaska. Irene has acted in a lot of Hollywood flicks and was voted by People Magazine, as one of the top 50 beautiful people in 1995. She is best known as the voice for the main character in the animated Disney film Pocahontas.

Molly Hootch and Anna Tobeluk
Both Molly Hootch and Anna Tobeluk, were credited with revolutionizing the native Alaskan village education. Prior to 1976, many native villages in Alaska lacked education facilities beyond the eighth grade. A number of native students together filed a suit against the State of Alaska to provide high schools in 100 of its villages. The case was named Tobeluk but is popularly referred to as the Molly Hootch case for her role as a leader in the plaintiffs agitation. 126 schools were granted high school status by the court as a result of this effort.

Howard Rock
Howard Rock edited the Tundra Times and was instrumental in getting the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act passed. His efforts prevented the Atomic Energy Commission from conducting nuclear tests at a site near Point Hope in Alaska, which is where he was born.

Trajan Langdon
Trajan Langdon is a famous basketball player who played for Cleveland Cavaliers and currently a top player for CSKA Moscow in Russia. Langdon, also nicknamed 'Alaska Assassin', is the first Alaskan to play in the NBA.

Carlos Boozer
Carlos Boozer is yet another basketball sensation raised in Alaska. He has been a part of the All-Star NBA team as well as a part of the gold medal-winning US basketball team at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Elizabeth Peratrovich
Elizabeth Peratrovich was a civil rights activist who worked for the native Alaskan people. She was the major force behind bringing about a change in the government attitude with regards to the Alaska's racial relations. Elizabeth championed the passage of the Anti Discrimination Bill which guaranteed equal treatment in public accommodations for all the citizens.

Ernest Gruening
Ernest Gruening was the territorial governor of Alaska from 1935-1953. As a governor, he formed the Territorial Guard to protect the Alaskan region from Japanese incursions during World War II. He lobbied for the statehood of Alaska and was senator from Alaska from 1956 to 1958. He served as an able leader and opposed the Vietnam War very strongly.

Benny Benson
Benny Benson is the person who was instrumental in created the official flag of the State of Alaska. In a competition for students of grades seven through twelve in 1926, Benny's design was selected as the winning entry for the territorial flag which later on became Alaska's state flag.

Libby Riddles
Libby Riddles was the first woman to win the 'Last Great Race on Earth' in 1985, which is the name for the 1,049-miles Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. She achieved this at the age of 29 years, and took 18 days, 2 minutes and 17 seconds on a route from Anchorage to Nome.

Susan Butcher
Susan Butcher is the only woman to win the Iditarod Sled Dog Race, for three consecutive years in a row, from 1986 to 1988. Butcher is a very popular figure among the Alaskans.

Scott Gomez
Scott Gomez is the first Alaskan to play in the American National Hockey League (NHL) and also the first player of Latino origin to achieve this distinction. Currently, he is playing for the New York Rangers.

Big Mike Heney
Heney is best known as the person who built two of the most impeccable railroads: the White Pass and Yukon Route, and the Copper River and Northwestern Route; which are considered to be a marvelous engineering feat. He did this without having any sort of formal technical education.

Ray Mala
Ray Mala was a famous actor of yesteryears and the most famous Alaskan film personality. He starred in Eskimo/Mala The Magnificent, an Oscar-winning film, and also the first film to win an Academy Award in the Best Film Editing category.

Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, captured the world's attention when she was nominated for the post of vice-president by the Republican Party. Although she lost along with Senator John McCain who was the presidential nominee, her popularity grew manifold. Sarah Palin is one of the most sought-after politicians in the world.

These people have brought glory, name and fame to Alaska and the state continues to revel in their glory.