This Day in History
In Alaska
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• In 1939, the bank balance for the Territory of Alaska was reported to be $1 million.
• In 1955, Walter B. Heisel of Juneau was commissioned Collector of Customs for Alaska.
• In 1959, President Dwight Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Alaska to the United States, a "moment after the stroke of noon." William Egan was sworn in as the first Governor of the state at 9:18 am. At 1 p.m., he was admitted to Juneau's St. Ann's Hospital, and later had a gall stone removed in Seattle.
• In 1969, the Alaska Board of Fish & Game permanently revoked the guide license of a Kodiak-based guide serving as Royal Guide to King Mahendra of Nepal for the illegal killing of a brown bear and a mountain goat.
• In 1971, the Southcentral portion of Alaska received its first live network sports broadcast from Anchorage's KTVA. It was a Denver Colts/San Francisco 49'ers football game.
• In 1979, Pacific Food was sold to Bristol Bay Native Corp.
In the nation
• In 1777, Gen. George Washington's army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, N.J.
• In 1938, the March of Dimes campaign to fight polio was organized.
• In 1947, congressional proceedings were televised for the first time as viewers in Washington, Philadelphia and New York got to see some of the opening ceremonies of the 80th Congress.
• In 1958, the first six members of the newly formed U.S. Commission on Civil Rights held their first meeting at the White House after they were sworn in by President Eisenhower.