Yukon & Alaska Chronology
Important dates in Yukon and Alaska history.
Highlights of History from The Whitehorse Star
Thousands of summaries and full articles published since 1900.
Arctic & Northern Aviation History
Pilot, airline and individual aircraft biographies.
Yukon/Alaska Sternwheelers & other Riverboats
A complete roster of the almost 300 boats that operated here, with stories about many.
Sternwheelers on Lake Laberge, Yukon Territory
Yukon/Alaska Railroads
Including the Alaska Railroad, the White Pass & Yukon Route, and many smaller lines that have disappeared.
Arctic & Northern Biographies
Community Histories
- Alaska
- Yukon
Klondike Gold Rush
The Jewish founders of the Alaska Commercial Company
A very detailed history by the Alaska Jewish Museum.
News from The Alaskan (Sitka, Alaska)
- July 30, 1887 (a new steamer line, Goddard Hot Springs, etc.)
- August 25, 1888 (mining reports)
- June 20, 1891 (new Customs staff, Mt. St. Elias expedition, seal hunting, etc.)
The Great River of Alaska, by Frederick Schwatka
This lengthy article, published in Century Magazine in September and October, 1885, tells the story of Schwatka's summer-long 1883 expedition through the Yukon and Alaska.
Education in the Territory of Alaska, 1887
An article from The Alaskan (Sitka, Alaska) of August 20, 1887, and the Alaska section of that year's federal Department of Education report.
Expedition to Mount St. Elias, 1888
A lengthy article from The Alaskan (Sitka, Alaska) of August 25, 1888.
Alaska and the Yukon, 1890
An article from The Victoria Daily Times of Tuesday, October 28, 1890, reports on an interview with Alaska Governor Lyman E. Knapp regarding conditions in Alaska and the Yukon.
Alaska Cruise News, June 1891
Several articles from The Alaskan (Sitka, Alaska) of June 20, 1891 talk about the growing tourist industry.
Melancholy Disaster at Icy Bay, June 1891
An article from 'The Alaskan' newspaper of June 13, 1891, reports on the death of 6 people while trying to get to shore from their ship in a small boat.
The Upper Yukon River in 1897
An article from the New-York Daily Tribune of January 24, 1897 describes the mineral and political situation in the upper Yukon River valley and neighbouring Alaska.
Reports from the Klondyke, 1897
A lengthy article from The Catholic Sentinel of September 19, 1897, relays stories from several ships trying to get men to the gold fields.
Leon Liard Swims Whitehorse Rapids, 1899
Tragedy near Nome, Alaska, 1899
The treasure ship Roanoke brings the first story of the death of several New Yorkers, members of the Alaska Prospecting Company.
Skagway to Nome - the Easy Way to the Gold Diggings
Two articles from The Daily Morning Alaskan (Skagway, Alaska) of Monday, January 1, 1900, describe the easy way to reach the new gold diggings at Nome - only 1,820 miles by dogteam via Skagway.
The Yukon Telegraph - Chronology
Major events concerning the line from 1871 until 1942.
Christmas at Nome, Alaska, 1901
An illustrated article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (St. Louis, Missouri) of Sunday, December 15, 1901.
Boxing in the Klondike
The good citizens of Dawson City loved the manful sport of boxing. Just six years after the Gold Rush, in 1904, they were treated to The Fight of the Century. By Darrell Hookey.
Explorer Amundsen the First to Force the Northwest Passage
An article from The Sunday Star (Washington, D.C.) of Sunday, December 17, 1905.
A Trip to Dawson in Mid-Winter, 1910
A full-page article by G. Chester Brown, M.E., published in the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Magazine on November 27, 1910.
Reindeer in Alaska, 1914
A lengthy illustrated article from The Sunday Star (Washington, D.C.) of December 13, 1914.
Greenland, 1915
Copied from the massive volume "Crania Groenlandica: A Description of Greenland Eskimo Crania" by Carl M. Fürst, M.D. and Fr. C. C. Hansen, M.D., published in Copenhagen by Andr. Fred. Höst & Son, 1915.
New Cadillac Brought to Dawson City, Yukon, 1915
Cordova in Alaska
By Dr. Arsenio Rey-Tejerina.
Spanish Place Names on the Face of Alaska
By Dr. Arsenio Rey-Tejerina.
Place Names in Revillagigedo and Gravina Islands
By Dr. Arsenio Rey-Tejerina.
Margaret and Marie in the Klondike Gold Rush
Disputes over gold mining could get out of hand, as the battle between Margaret Mitchell and Marie Fotheringham shows. By Darrell Hookey.
A winter journey from Dawson to Nome and back
An article from The Klondike Nugget (Dawson, Y.T.) of January 3, 1900, tells of George E. Storey's 8,000-mile journey.
The Marsh Lake Monster, Yukon Territory
An article from The Weekly Star of January 3, 1913, describes the 'monster animal or serpent' that was tracked, and its ancestor that ate most of an Indian village.
Report from the Kluane district, 1914
A Letter to the Editor of The Weekly Star, by Ed Benson, published on August 21, 1914, requests that a park be created and wildlife protected, and he names 3 geographical features.
Alaska postcard album, ca. 1915
This is an album of 14 Alaska postcards, unfortunately all thoroughly glued in but with a gorgeous hand-painted leather cover.
Big Game Hunting Stories in Whitehorse
Three articles from The Weekly Star (Whitehorse) of October 15, 1920.
The History of Fox Farming in the Yukon Territory
Peaking in the period from 1911 through 1916, fox farms brought a great deal of money into the Yukon, with single pelts selling for over $1,500 - a year's wages for many people.
U.S. Submarine Nautilus - 1931 North Pole Attempt
A press photo of 11 of the 25 crew members upon their return to the United States on October 5, 1931.
A Visit to the Yukon Territory in 1937
A lengthy illustrated article by J. K. Nesbitt, published in the Victoria Daily Times on August 21, 1937.
Yukon & Alaska postcards by the R. J. Calvert Company
Six postcards with historic scenes from the Yukon and Alaska Territories, printed in the 1980s.
Yukon Communities in 1947
The complete "Towns and Settlements" chapter of the 56-page booklet "Yukon Territory: A Brief Description of its History, Administration, Resources, and Development", by W.F. Lothian.
Alaska Tour, 1947
This article about a 30-day tour of Alaska by bus, airplane and cruise ship appeared in 11 issues of The Desert Sun (Palm Springs, CA) in August and September 1947.
Canada to ask for tax-free corridors through Alaska Panhandle
An article from The Ottawa Journal of Monday, January 8, 1954.
Latest Word on Oil Refinery at Haines, Alaska
An article from The Whitehorse Star of February 7, 1957, describes the proposed refinery and pipeline.
Planes & Electronics Correct Maps of the North, 1955
A lengthy article from The Gazette (Montreal) of Wednesday, July 20, 1955 describes the project operating out of RCAF Station Whitehorse.
The world's tallest tsunami - Lituya Bay, Alaska, 1958
On July 9, 1958, a magnitude 8.3 earthquake triggered a landslide that created a wave that reached 1,740 feet above sea level on a hill opposite the slide.
"Northern Lights", Easter 1965
Northern Lights is the journal of the Anglican Diocese of Yukon, published 2-3 times a year since about the early 1940s.
Klondike Heritage Mail Run, 1985
During the celebration of the National Parks of Canada Centennial, special envelopes were carried between Seattle and Dawson City via the Chilkoot Pass.
The Alaska Veterans Memorial
At Mile 147.2 of the George Parks Highway between Anchorage and Fairbanks is a memorial that is beautifully designed to complement its setting.
The History of Greenland, 1766
This 20-page look at the 2-volume "The History of Greenland" by David Crantz (published in 1765-1766) was published in 1793.
Yukon Time
In 2020, a survey resulted in a constant time zone, with no more seasonal clock changes, but in 2023, a petition was circulated asking for the time zone chosen to be looked at again.
