Ernest Gruening

Territorial Governor of Alaska

Alaska-Tennessee Plan Senator

US Senator

Member, Alaska Statehood Committee
 

• "Father of Alaska Statehood"
• Authored "The State of Alaska," a national bestseller that advocated statehood for Alaska
• Constant advocate for statehood throughout his tenure as Governor

Name Ernest Gruening
City Juneau
Occupation Politician and Newspaperman
Born February 6, 1887 - New York
Died June 26, 1974 - Washington D.C.
Alaska Resident 1939-74

Honors

• Honored with statue in US Capitol - 1977
• Mount Ernest Gruening in Juneau named in his honor
• Gruening Building on UAF Campus named in his honor
• American Jewish Hall of Fame Inductee

• Speech to the Convention
• Eisenhower signs the Alaska Statehood Proclamation
• Congressional Biography
• National Statuary Hall - US Capitol

Suggested Reading  

• The State of Alaska - by Ernest Gruening
• Many Battles: The Autobiography of Ernest Gruening - Ernest Gruening
• Ernest Gruening and the American Dissenting Tradition - Robert David Johnson
• Ernest Gruening - Alaska's Greatest Governor - Claus-M. Naske

Selected Newspaper Articles  

• Gruening Hits U.S. Refusal to Grant Statehood - Anchorage Daily Times, 1955-11-09
• Gruening Believes Seattle Has Most Opposition to Statehood - Anchorage Daily Times, 1955-10-25
• Honors For Gruening - Anchorage Daily Times, 1955-11-28

For more newspaper articles, visit the Statehood Newspaper Archive