On this day in … 1959


Alaska is admitted to the Union as the 49th state. 

On 3 January 1959, President Eisenhower signed a special proclamation admitting the territory of Alaska as the 49th state in the Union. Alaska was the first of two non-contiguous states. Hawaii would complete today’s set of 50 states and two non-contiguous states with its admission to the Union just under eight months later.

State Seal of Alaska By U.S. Government [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons