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List of people from Alaska

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Flag of Alaska
Artis the Spoonman
Rex Beach
Carlos Boozer
Susan Butcher
Mario Chalmers
Robert Crawford
Jimmy Doolittle
William Duncan
Wyatt Earp
Mike Gravel
Ernest Gruening
Walter Hickel
Robin Hobb
Sheldon Jackson
Kevin Johansen
Levi Johnston
Joseph Juneau
Gunnar Kaasen
Jewel Kilcher
Sydney Laurence
Lance Mackey
Holly Madison
Ray Mala
Andre Marrou
Drew Meekins
Tommy Moe
Lisa Murkowski
William Oefelein
Bristol Palin
Sarah Palin
Peter the Aleut
Valerie Plame
Amerie Rogers
Larry Sanger
Curt Schilling
Mark Schlereth
Molly Smith
Soapy Smith
Steve Smith
File:Dana Stabenow.jpg
Dana Stabenow
Ted Stevens
Robert Stroud
Nate Thompson
File:VanWinkle A.jpg
Archie Van Winkle


This is a list of notable people from Alaska. This list includes individuals who were born in Alaska, grew up there, retired there, or in any other fashion lived there even if for only a brief period of time (such as infancy, during one or more of the many gold rushes during the late 19th century and early 20th century, or as a result of rapid military influx and outflux from 1940 onward).


  • Key to table entries:
    • Name
    • Year born
    • Year died
    • Communities lived in Alaska
    • Noted for

A

John Luther Adams 1953 living Fairbanks classical music composer
Christian Allen 1976 living Eagle River video game designer
Syun-Ichi Akasofu 1930 living Fairbanks geophysicist, aurora researcher, recently a participant in climate change debate
Alvin Eli Amason 1948 living Fairbanks, Kodiak painter, sculptor
Artis the Spoonman 1948 living Kodiak street musician, subject of the song by Soundgarden

B

Laird Barron 1970 living Palmer sled dog racer, writer
Rex Beach 1877 1949 Nome writer; one of many participants in the Nome Gold Rush and related events who became famous elsewhere (see below for other examples)
Marty Beckerman 1983 living Anchorage writer
Irene Bedard 1967 living Anchorage actress; actress for Pocahantas
Chad Bentz 1980 living Juneau, Seward major league baseball pitcher
Bill Berry 1926 1979 Fairbanks painter, cartoonist
Lydia Black 1925 2007 Fairbanks, Kodiak anthropologist, linguist
Anastasia Blue 1980 2008 Anchorage pornographic actress
Annalee Blysse romance novelist
Tom Bodett 1955 living Homer writer, commentator, voice actor
Carlos Boozer 1981 living Juneau power forward for the Chicago Bulls who won an Olympic Bronze medal
Lincoln Brewster 1971 living Fairbanks, Homer musician, singer-songwriter
Justin Buchholz 1983 living Fairbanks mixed martial artist
Kira Buckland 1987 living Anchorage animation voice actress
Martin Buser 1958 living Big Lake sled dog racer
Jon Butcher 1950 living Clear guitarist and songwriter best known for fronting 1980s band Jon Butcher Axis
Susan Butcher 1954 2006 sled dog racer, four-time winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

C

Marian Call 1982 living Anchorage singer-songwriter
Matt Carle 1984 living Anchorage NHL hockey player
Chad Carpenter living Eagle River, Wasilla cartoonist, creator of Tundra
William F. Cassidy 1908 2002 Nome U.S. Army lieutenant general
Shawn Chacón 1977 living Anchorage Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher
Mario Chalmers 1986 living Anchorage Miami Heat point guard who won the 2011 3-point contest
Callan Chythlook-Sifsof 1989 living Aleknagik, Girdwood snowboarder, 2010 Olympics team member, first Alaska Native Olympian
Daryn Colledge 1982 living North Pole Arizona Cardinals football player
Ty Conklin 1976 living Anchorage professional ice hockey goaltender
Robert Crawford 1899 1961 Fairbanks early singer-songwriter, composer of "The U.S. Air Force"
Aaron Cunningham 1986 living Anchorage San Diego Padres outfielder

D

Nora Marks Dauenhauer 1927 living Juneau writer
T. Neil Davis 1932 living Fairbanks, North Pole geophysicist, writer
Dale DeArmond 1914 2006 Juneau, Ketchikan, Pelican, Sitka printmaker
R. N. DeArmond 1911 2010 Juneau, Ketchikan, Pelican, Sitka historian, journalist, writer
Mahala Ashley Dickerson 1912 2007 Anchorage, Wasilla lawyer, civil rights activist, mother of bodybuilder Chris Dickerson
Traci Dinwiddie 1973 living Anchorage actress
Jimmy Doolittle 1896 1993 Nome World War II general and hero
Brandon Dubinsky 1986 living Anchorage professional ice hockey player
William Duncan 1832 1918 Metlakatla Anglican lay missionary, brought a group of Tsimshian Indians from Canada to Annette Island, founding Metlakatla

E

Kate Earl 1981 living Anchorage, Chugiak singer-songwriter
Wyatt Earp 1848 1929 Nome frontier law officer of the American West; lived in Nome prior to and during the height of its gold rush, operating the Dexter Saloon
Carl Ben Eielson 1897 1929 pioneering aviator
Erik Ellington 1977 living Anchorage professional skateboarder

F

Dana Fabe 1951 living Anchorage first female associate justice of the Alaska Supreme Court
Claire Fejes 1920 1998 Fairbanks artist, writer
Corey Flintoff 1946 living Fairbanks National Public Radio correspondent

G

Vivica Genaux living Fairbanks opera singer
Scott Gomez 1979 living Anchorage Montreal Canadiens hockey player
Katherine Gottlieb ca. 1952 living Anchorage president of Southcentral Foundation, MacArthur Fellow
Mike Gravel 1930 living Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula U.S. Senator of Pentagon Papers fame
Kelsey Griffin 1987 living Eagle River basketball player with the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA
Logan Grove 1999 living Palmer child actor best known for his work in various Disney productions
Eileen Grubba living Anchorage actress
Ernest Gruening 1887 1974 Juneau journalist, writer, territorial governor, U.S. Senator

H

John Haines 1924 2011 Big Delta, Fairbanks poet, former Alaska poet laureate
Benjamin Haldane 1874 1941 Metlakatla photographer
Travis Hall 1972 living Soldotna San Francisco 49ers football player
Walter Harper 1892 1918 made the first recorded ascent of Mount McKinley
Richard Harris 1833 1907 Juneau gold prospector, co-founder of Juneau
Ernestine Hayes 1945 living Juneau writer
Herman of Alaska 1756 1837 Kodiak Island Orthodox saint
C. "Rusty" Heurlin 1895 1986 Barrow, Ester, Valdez painter
Walter Hickel 1919 2010 Anchorage industrialist, twice governor, also U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Robin Hobb 1952 living Kodiak fantasy fiction writer
Sam Hoger 1980 living mixed martial artist
Anna Kathryn Holbrook 1956 living Fairbanks television actress
Rick Holmstrom 1965 living Fairbanks blues guitarist and singer-songwriter
Steve Holt living Kenai guitarist and backing vocalist for 36 Crazyfists

I

J

Nathan Jackson 1938 living Ketchikan artist, specializing in carving totem poles
Sheldon Jackson 1834 1909 Sitka pioneering Presbyterian missionary, educator, reindeer herder
Kevin Johansen 1964 living Fairbanks Latin rock musician
Michelle Johnson 1965 living Anchorage actress
Levi Johnston 1990 living Wasilla former partner of Bristol Palin and celebrity news personality
Marie Smith Jones 1918 2008 Anchorage, Cordova last speaker of the Eyak language
DeeDee Jonrowe 1953 living Anchorage, Fairbanks, Willow sled dog racer
Joseph Juneau 1836 1899 Juneau gold prospector, co-founder and namesake of Juneau

K

Gunnar Kaasen 1882 1960 Nome sled dog racer
Peter Kalifornsky 1911 1993 Kenai Peninsula ethnographer, writer
Seth Kantner living Kotzebue writer
Joan Arend Kickbush 1926 2006 Anchorage painter
Jewel Kilcher 1974 living Homer singer-songwriter, actress
Jeff King 1956 living sled dog racer
Sara King 1982 living Fairbanks writer
Natalie Kusz 1962 living memoirist
Chris Kuper 1982 living Anchorage Denver Broncos offensive guard
Randy Kutcher 1960 living Anchorage major league baseball outfielder

L

Trajan Langdon 1976 living Anchorage retired basketball player with several teams, most notably the Cleveland Cavaliers and CSKA Moscow
Austin E. Lathrop 1865 1950 Anchorage, Cordova, Fairbanks, Valdez industrialist, owned substantial business investments throughout Alaska in territorial days, one of the strongest Alaskan opponents of statehood
Sydney Laurence 1865 1940 Anchorage, Valdez landscape painter
Ernest Leffingwell 1875 1971 Flaxman Island explorer and geologist
Hilary Lindh 1969 living Juneau alpine ski racer
Segundo Llorente 1906 1989 Alakanuk, Anchorage, Bethel, Cordova, Fairbanks, Kotzebue, Sheldon Point Jesuit priest who was elected by write-in vote 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

joe conklin country music singer

M

Fred Machetanz 1908 2002 Palmer, Unalakleet painter
Dick Mackey living Coldfoot sled dog racer, early winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
Lance Mackey 1970 living Fairbanks, Fox sled dog racer, four time Yukon Quest and four time Iditarod winner
Holly Madison 1979 living Prince of Wales Island model, television personality
Ray Mala 1906 1952 Candle actor, cinematographer
Andre Marrou 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
Robert Marshall 1901 1939 Wiseman wilderness activist, writer; wrote Arctic Village about his experiences in Wiseman
Jesse Marunde 1979 2007 Glennallen strongman competitor
Carl McCunn 1946 1981 Anchorage photographer, adventurer; committed suicide when stranded in the wilderness in northern Alaska
Mel McDaniel 1942 2011 Anchorage country music singer-songwriter
Linious "Mac" McGee 1897 1988 Anchorage, Seward pioneering aviator
Drew Meekins 1985 living Juneau pairs figure skater
Russel Merrill 1894 1929 Anchorage, Ketchikan pioneering aviator
Tommy Moe 1970 living Girdwood, Palmer, Wasilla skier, gold medal winner at the 1994 Winter Olympics
Patricia Monaghan 1946 living poet, writer
Kelly Moneymaker 1970 living Fairbanks singer, most notably with Exposé
Shannyn Moore 1970 living Homer blogger, political activist
James Morrison 1954 living Anchorage actor, 24
Joshua Morrow 1974 living Juneau actor, singer
Margaret Murie 1902 2003 Fairbanks "grandmother of the conservation movement"
Lisa Murkowski 1957 living Anchorage, Fairbanks, Ketchikan, Wrangell U.S. Senator who was reelected as a write-in candidate in 2010

N

Jacob Netsvetov 1802 1864 Atka, Sitka Orthodox saint

O

William Oefelein 1965 living Anchorage astronaut
Laurie Olin 1938 living landscape architect
Norman Olson 1946 living Nikiski militia activist

P

Dorothy Page 1921 1989 Wasilla co-founder of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
Bristol Palin 1990 living Wasilla daughter of Sarah and Todd Palin (see below), former contestant on Dancing with the Stars
Sarah Palin 1964 living Eagle River, Skagway, Wasilla youngest and first female governor, 2008 Republican nominee for U.S. vice president
Todd Palin 1964 living Dillingham, Wasilla husband of Sarah Palin, champion snowmobile racer
Annie Parisse 1975 living Anchorage actress
Virgil Partch 1916 1984 St. Paul cartoonist
Elizabeth Peratrovich 1911 1958 Juneau, Ketchikan, Klawock, Petersburg, Sitka civil rights activist
Peter the Aleut ca. 1815 Orthodox saint
Emmitt Peters 1940 living Ruby sled dog racer, early winner of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
Valerie Plame 1963 living Anchorage
Kirsten Powers 1969 living Fairbanks blogger, political commentator
Chanel Preston 1985 living Fairbanks pornographic actress

Q

R

Marjorie Rambeau 1889 1970 Nome actress
Kikkan Randall 1982 living Anchorage cross-country skier
Sean Rash 1982 living Anchorage professional tenpin bowler
Joe Redington 1917 1999 Knik sled dog racer, co-founder of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
Robert Campbell Reeve 1902 1980 Anchorage, Valdez pioneering aviator
Tex Rickard 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
Libby Riddles 1956 living Shaktoolik, Teller sled dog racer, first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
Libby Roderick ca. 1958 living Anchorage journalist, singer-songwriter, writer
Amerie Rogers 1981 living Anchorage pop singer
Ava Rose 1986 living Sutton pornographic actress
Mia Rose 1987 living Sutton pornographic actress
Paul Rosenthal 1942 living Juneau violinist, founder of the Sitka Summer Music Festival
Bob Ross 1942 1995 North Pole painter
Peter Trimble Rowe 1856 1942 Episcopal bishop
Jason Ryznar 1983 living Anchorage professional ice hockey player

S

Larry Sanger 1968 living Anchorage co-founder of Wikipedia
Curt Schilling 1966 living Anchorage professional baseball player
Daniel Schlereth 1986 living Anchorage professional baseball player
Mark Schlereth 1966 living Anchorage professional football player, football analyst for ESPN
Brian Schmidt 1967 living Anchorage astrophysicist, 2011 Nobel Prize laureate in Physics
Mitch Seavey living Seward, Sterling sled dog racer
Charles John Seghers 1839 1886 Juneau, Nulato, Sitka pioneering Catholic missionary
Ronald Senungetuk 1933 living Fairbanks, Homer, Wales silversmith, sculptor
Leonhard Seppala 1877 1967 Fairbanks, Nome sled dog racer, key musher in the 1925 serum run to Nome
Tom Sexton 1940 living Anchorage, Fairbanks poet, former Alaska poet laureate
Don Simpson 1943 1996 Anchorage Hollywood film producer
Jamie Smith ca. 1965 living Fairbanks cartoonist, printmaker
Molly Smith living Douglas theater director
Soapy Smith 1860 1898 Skagway con artist, gangster
Steve Smith 1985 living Anchorage St. Louis Rams football player
Dana Stabenow 1952 living writer
Darby Stanchfield 1971 living Kodiak, Unalaska television actress
Ted Stevens 1923 2010 Anchorage, Fairbanks, Girdwood both the longest-serving U.S. Senator from Alaska and from the Republican Party
John Strohmeyer 1924 2010 Anchorage Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; journalism professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where he wrote several books about Alaska, including Extreme Conditions
John F. A. Strong 1856 1929 Iditarod, Juneau, Katalla, Nome, Skagway founder of what is now the Juneau Empire, territorial governor
Robert Stroud 1890 1963 Juneau convicted killer, later better known as "The Birdman of Alcatraz"
Stephen Sundborg living president of Seattle University
Rick Swenson 1950 living Manley Hot Springs, Two Rivers sled dog racer
Jim Sykes 1950 living Anchorage, Palmer, Talkeetna Green Party politician

T

Khleo Thomas 1989 living Anchorage actor, rapper
Lowell Thomas, Jr. 1923 living Anchorage, Talkeetna son of and collaborator with Lowell Thomas; bush pilot, film maker, lecturer, politician, writer
Morris Thompson 1939 2000 Fairbanks, Tanana Alaska Native leader, business executive
Nate Thompson 1984 living Anchorage professional ice hockey player
Ray Troll living Ketchikan artist, musician

U

Rachel Uchitel 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

Archie Van Winkle 1925 1986 Juneau, Ketchikan Korean War hero
Paul Varelans 1969 living Fairbanks mixed martial artist
Norman D. Vaughan 1905 2005 Eagle River, Trapper Creek explorer, dog musher
Joe Vogler 1913 1993 Fairbanks, Kodiak gold miner and secessionist advocate, became folk hero following his murder

W

Jujiro Wada ca. 1872 1937 Barrow, Fairbanks, Nome adventurer
Velma Wallis 1960 living Fairbanks, Fort Yukon writer
Nathan West 1978 living Anchorage actor
Mr. Whitekeys 1947 living Fairbanks, Spenard writer, musician, commentator, satirist
James Wickersham 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
Noel Wien 1899 1977 pioneering aviator
Dave Williams 1979 living Anchorage professional baseball player
Barrett Willoughby 1959 writer
Charles Wood 1916 1978 Iditarod, Kodiak singer and actor in Broadway musicals

X

Y

Rob Yundt 1980 living Wasilla mixed martial artist

Z

People associated with Alaska

  • Edward Albee (born 1928), the 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 Alaska 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; was 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 include 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), a personal 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), a 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.
  • Ralph Regula (born 1924), 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.
  • 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)
  • Cal Worthington (born 1920), 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. 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

Others

References

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