1. In 1972, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act was signed into law on October 13th. This allowed for the indigenous people of Alaska to receive compensation for the lands they lost in the state.

2. On October 13, 1978, the Fairbanks pipeline explosion occurred, killing one person and injuring several others. The explosion was caused by a natural gas leak in a local pipeline.

3. In 1945, the USS Juneau was discovered off the coast of Alaska on October 13th. The ship, famous for the deaths of the five Sullivan brothers during World War II, was sunk in 1942.

4. On October 13, 1867, the first telegraph message was sent from Alaska to the rest of the United States. This message, sent from Sitka, read “Bridge to America—Alaska has no ice problem.”

5. The Alaska Statehood Act was signed into law on October 13, 1958. This act made Alaska the 49th state of the United States.