Alaska became the 49th U.S. state in 1959.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act in 1958, and Alaska entered the Union on January 3, 1959. Its admission followed decades of territorial status after the United States purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867.
Alaska is the largest U.S. state by area and is separated from the contiguous United States by Canada. Its geography includes Arctic coastlines, extensive mountain ranges, glaciers, and North America's highest peak, Denali.
Alaska's statehood was quickly followed by Hawaii's admission later in 1959. The two additions brought the Union to its present total of 50 states, a structure that America250 commemorates in 2026.