This day in history: Alaska becomes 49th state in 1959
(CBS DETROIT) - On Jan. 3, 1959, Alaska was admitted as the 49th state.
President Eisenhower signed a special proclamation admitting the territory as the largest state at 664,988 square miles.
According to History.com, Indigenous peoples inhabited the region for centuries, and the Europeans discovered the area in 1741 after a Russian expedition found the mainland.
Russian hunters would visit Alaska, and the native Aleut population suffered due to exposure to new diseases.
The first permanent Russian colony was established in 1784, and following minor conflicts, the British and Americans gained trading rights in Alaska, according to History.com.
The United States purchased Alaska in 1867 for $7.2 million. The purchase was ridiculed by many, but people changed their minds about the purchase once gold was discovered in 1898.
According to the 2020 Census, the population of Alaska is 733,391.
