APRIL 6, 1943

TLINGIT ALASKAN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BYRON MALLOTT BORN

Byron, born in Yakutat, Alaska (AK), went to boarding school in Skagway, AK where he both developed a stutter & was expelled sticking up for another student. Graduating high school in Sitka, AK, Mallott entered Western Washington University, but left when his father died. He became mayor at age 22, but left the post for a state job where he met Alaska Native leaders Emil Notti & Willie Hensley who were organizing the Alaska Federation of Natives. After the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, Byron became a founding board member of tribal regional corporation, Sealaska, and was its top executive in the 1980s overseeing its shareholders’ permanent fund & corporate investment portfolio before retiring in 1992, though he stayed on the board until 2014. Byron was Mayor of Juneau in the 1990s, and in 2010, ran unsuccessfully for governor. In 2014, he became lieutenant governor under independent Bill Walker. In 2018, he resigned the post. Mallott died on May 8, 2020.

Source: Jeremy Hsieh, "Byron Mallott: 'My friend, we also have lived life fully, made a few contributions,'" KTOO, 5/15/2020. Retrieved 11/27/2022, Byron Mallott: 'My friend, we also have lived life fully, made a few contributions' (ktoo.org)

Photo:  James Brooks, 12/1/2014. Permissive Use pursuant to Creative Commons license.