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Alaska's name is based on the Aleut word "alaxsxaq", which means roughly "the mainland". Alaska's first inhabitants crossed over the Bering Sea, across what was once a land bridge, from Asia many thousands of years ago. Many pre-Columbian peoples followed over the centuries, with the area eventually becoming home to Inuit and other Native peoples. Vitus Bering, a Danish sea captain, was sent by Peter the Great of Russia to explore the region, and so the northwestern portion of North America was claimed by the Russians. Explorers from England, France, and Spain also began exploring the area and hunting fur-bearing animals. Eventually this led to the formation in 1799 of the Russian American Company in an attempt to control the exploitation, which led to colonization of the region.
In 1867, William H. Seward, as U. S. Secretary of State, made possible the Alaska Purchase. During the 1880s, Alaska and the Yukon Territory of Canada witnessed a gold rush, triggering a surge of settlers to the area. In 1925, a life-or-death race to save the children of Nome from a diphtheria epidemic made an international hero of one sled dog, and eventually led to the creation of Alaska's Iditarod sled dog race.
On January 3, 1959, Alaska was admitted as the 49th state in the United States. Petroleum deposits were discovered in 1968, which led to the development of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline, competed in 1977. Today, over half of Alaska is owned by the Federal Government.
Some famous Alaskan inhabitants include prospector Joe Juneau, missionary Sheldon Jackson, naturalist John Muir, author John Griffith (Jack) London, and explorer Vitus Bering.
With its interesting history and continued promise as the Last Frontier, Alaska will likely remain true to its motto, and proceed "North to the Future".
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