OCTOBER 12, 1913

ALUTIIQ BENNY BENSON BORN–DESIGNED ALASKAN FLAG

Born in Chignik, Alaska, his Alutiiq-Russian mother died when he was 3.  His father sent his children to orphanages: His sister to Oregon; Benny & his brother to Unalaska.  In 1926, Territorial Governor Parks, pushing for statehood, had the Alaska American Legion hold a contest open to Alaskan children grades 7-12 to design a flag.  Benson, a 7^th-grader, won unanimously.  His design—the Big Dipper’s 8 stars on a blue field for the sky, and a Forget-me-not flower—was flown first on July 9, 1927.  Benny won a watch with the flag emblem & a $1,000 scholarship.  Graduating high school in 1932, he worked in the Aleutians with his father on a fox farm.  Moving to Seattle in 1936, he used his scholarship to learn diesel engine repair.  In 1950, after a divorce, he and his 2 daughters moved to Kodiak where he became an airplane mechanic.  Benny died in 1972, in Kodiak, Alaska.  Mount Benson, outside of Seward is named for him.  The 2^nd Monday of October is celebrated by the Alutiiq as “Benny Benson Day.”

Source:  “Benny Benson,” UA Journey, University of Alaska.  Retrieved 7/23/2020, https://www.alaska.edu/uajourney/notable-people/kodiak/benny-benson/
Photo:  Author unknown, 1926.  Source: https://vilda.alaska.edu/digital/collection/cdmg21/id/1665.  Courtesy of Alaska State Library Photograph Collection, Image No. ASL-P01-1921.