George Ormand Sharrock (May 2,1910 –March 6,2005) was Mayor of Anchorage from 1961 to 1964. He is sometimes known as "The Earthquake Mayor" for having been in office during the Good Friday earthquake of 1964,and for his work in the aftermath.
George Sharrock was born May 2,1910,in Zanesville,Ohio. He grew up in Canton,Ohio,where he attended Stark Elementary School and graduated from McKinley High School. After spending a number of years as a factory supervisor in Ypsilanti,Michigan,he came to Alaska in 1947 to work for Pacific Northern Airlines,which was later merged into Western Airlines.
He served on the Anchorage City Council from 1959 to 1961,when he was elected mayor. In the wake of the earthquake,he decided not to run for re-election. In 1972,he was appointed Commissioner of Commerce by Governor Walter Hickel. In 1969,he was appointed Chairman of the Federal Field Committee for Development Planning in Alaska by President Richard Nixon.
He died from complications of a fall March 6,2005 at the age of 94. He had a son,Patrick and a daughter,Diane,with his wife,Pauline.
Whittier is a city at the head of the Passage Canal in the U.S. state of Alaska,about 58 miles (93 km) southeast of Anchorage. The city is within the Chugach Census Area,one of the two entities established in 2019 when the former Valdez–Cordova Census Area was dissolved. It is also a port for the Alaska Marine Highway. The population was 272 at the 2020 census,having increased from 220 in 2010.
The 1964 Alaskan earthquake,also known as the Great Alaskan earthquake and Good Friday earthquake,occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday,March 27,1964. Across south-central Alaska,ground fissures,collapsing structures,and tsunamis resulting from the earthquake caused about 131 deaths.
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is a major airport in the U.S. state of Alaska,located 5 miles (8 km) southwest of downtown Anchorage. The airport is named for Ted Stevens,who served as a senator of Alaska from 1968 to 2009. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021,in which it is categorized as a medium-hub primary commercial service facility.
Walter Joseph Hickel was an American businessman,real estate developer,and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994,as well as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1969 to 1970. He worked as a construction worker and eventually became a construction company operator during Alaska's territorial days. Following World War II,Hickel became heavily involved with real estate development,building residential subdivisions,shopping centers and hotels. Hickel entered politics in the 1950s during Alaska's battle for statehood and remained politically active for the rest of his life.
Cook Inlet stretches 180 miles (290 km) from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end,almost surrounding Anchorage. On its southern end,it merges with Shelikof Strait,Stevenson Entrance,Kennedy Entrance and Chugach Passage.
The history of Alaska dates back to the Upper Paleolithic period,when foraging groups crossed the Bering land bridge into what is now western Alaska. At the time of European contact by the Russian explorers,the area was populated by Alaska Native groups. The name "Alaska" derives from the Aleut word Alaxsxaq,meaning "mainland".
West Anchorage High School is a public high school in Anchorage,Alaska. The school is part of the Anchorage School District (ASD). Opened in 1953,West is the oldest of ASD's eight major high schools. Serving the western parts of downtown and midtown Anchorage,in 2020-2021 it had an enrollment of 1,754.This makes West Anchorage High School the high school with the highest student enrollment in Alaska,edging East Anchorage High School out by 44 students,which enrolled 1,710 students.
After congress approved the completion of the Alaska Railroad from Seward to Fairbanks in 1914,it was decided that a new town should be built as a port and rail hub along the route. The decision was made to develop a site near Ship Creek on Cook Inlet. Survey parties visited the area in 1914 and researched possible routes for the rails and options for siting the new town. Anchorage was originally settled as a tent city near the mouth of Ship Creek in 1915,and a planned townsite was platted alongside the bluff to the south. Anchorage was mostly a company town for the Alaska Railroad for its first several decades of existence.
Anchorage,officially the Municipality of Anchorage,is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census,it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area,which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Matanuska-Susitna Borough,had a population of 398,328 in 2020,accounting for more than half the state's population. At 1,706 sq mi (4,420 km2) of land area,the city is the fourth-largest by area in the U.S.
Joseph Herman Romig was an American frontier physician and Moravian Church missionary,who served as Mayor of Anchorage,Alaska,during 1937–1938.
Elmer Edwin Rasmuson was an American banker,philanthropist and politician in the territory and state of Alaska. He led the family business,National Bank of Alaska,for many decades as president and later chairman. He also served as Mayor of Anchorage from 1964 to 1967 and was the Republican nominee for United States Senator from Alaska in the 1968 election,losing the general election to Mike Gravel.
George Murray Sullivan was an American politician who served as the 26th mayor of the City of Anchorage from 1967 to 1975 and the 1st mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage from 1975 to 1981.
Winfield Ervin Jr. (1902–1985) was a mayor of Anchorage,Alaska.
The Alaska Airlines Center is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Anchorage,Alaska. It is located on the campus of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) and adjacent to Providence Alaska Medical Center (PAMC).
Ruth Anna Marie Schmidt was an American geologist and paleontologist who was a pioneer for women scientists. She spent most of her career in Alaska,where she established a United States Geological Survey (USGS) field office and established the first Department of Geology at the Anchorage Community College,now part of the University of Alaska Anchorage. In 1964,Schmidt directed the initial assessment of the damage done to the city of Anchorage by the Great Alaska Earthquake,the largest earthquake in North American history,and the second largest earthquake ever to be recorded. She worked for the USGS in Washington,DC during the era of McCarthyism and was investigated twice for disloyalty because of her membership in the interracial Washington Cooperative Bookshop. She was cleared both times. She earned a number of awards,honors,and letters of commendation and appreciation. After her death in 2014,she was recognized as a philanthropist.
Manley &Mayer was an American architectural firm in Alaska,and was the leading firm in Anchorage for several decades.
On November 30,2018,at 8:29 a.m. AKST (17:29 UTC),a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit Anchorage in South Central Alaska. The earthquake's epicenter was near Point Mackenzie,about 10 miles (16 km) north of Anchorage,and occurred at a depth of 29 miles (47 km). It was followed six minutes later by a magnitude 5.7 aftershock centered 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north-northwest of the municipality. The earthquake could be felt as far away as Fairbanks.
John R. Roderick was an American lawyer and politician who served as the mayor of Anchorage,Alaska from 1972 to 1975.
The 2021 Anchorage mayoral election was held on April 6,2021,to elect the mayor of Anchorage,Alaska. As no candidate received at least 45% of the vote in the first round,the two candidates with the highest vote share,Forrest Dunbar and Dave Bronson,advanced to a runoff on May 11. The election was officially nonpartisan. Incumbent independent acting mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson,first appointed to the position in October 2020,was eligible to run for reelection to a full term,but did not run. The deadline to register to vote in the first round was March 7. Mail-in ballots were sent out starting on March 15. On May 21,2021,after a narrow loss,Dunbar conceded the race to Bronson. Bronson was sworn in on July 1.
David Bronson is an American politician,pilot,and retired Air Force officer. A Republican,he was the 37th mayor of Anchorage,Alaska from 2021 until 2024.