William Allen Egan
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| William Allen Egan | |
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| In office 1959 – 1966 1970 – 1974 |
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| Lieutenant | Hugh Wade – 1st Term H. A. "Red" Boucher – 2nd Term |
| Preceded by | Waino Hendrickson – 1st Term Keith Miller – 2nd Term |
| Succeeded by | Walter Hickel – 1st Term Jay Hammond – 2nd Term |
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| Born | October 8, 1914 Valdez, Alaska |
| Died | May 6, 1984 (aged 69) Anchorage, Alaska |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Profession | Politician |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
William Allen Egan (October 8, 1914 – May 6, 1984) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the first Governor of the State of Alaska from January 3, 1959 to 1966, and was elected to a second term from 1970 to 1974. Born in Valdez, Alaska, Egan is the only governor in the state's history to have actually been born in Alaska. He is today considered as one of the modern fathers of the state, and remains a popular figure in Alaskan history and state political culture.
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[edit] Early childhood and adulthood
The child of a working-class mining family of six children in Valdez, Egan was raised by his mother following his father's death in an avalanche in 1920. By age 10, Egan was working in a local cannery, helping to support his struggling family. Thanks to the lack of driving laws in the Alaska Territory during the 1920s, Egan learned to drive at an early age, shuttling tourists around during summer months. By the age of 14, Egan was driving dump trucks for the Alaska Road Commission.
Following his graduation as a valedictorian from Valdez High School in 1932, Egan began an interest in politics. Egan's godfather, Anthony Dimond, a local Valdez lawyer, two-time mayor and member to the Alaska Senate, ran as a Democrat for the territory's nonvoting delegate to the federal U.S. House of Representatives the same year. Despite the position's inability to vote due to the Tennessee Plan, a nonvoting delegate could address other House members and lobby for both bills and statehood. Dimond won the race, introducing the young Egan, who viewed Dimond as his mentor, to territorial and federal politics. Dimond would send copies of Congressional Record back to Egan in Valdez for reading.
In later years, Egan would recall that he greatly admired Dimond's civility of avoiding political mudslinging and gentlemanly manners to politicians and the public alike. Egan would also recall that Dimond's passion for statehood contributed to his own desire for the territory to join the Union, freeing the state from constrictions on federal voting, legislation, and corporate governance.
[edit] Political career
Following on his godfather's footsteps, Egan ran successfully as the Democratic candidate for Valdez in the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives in 1940, a post he would hold until 1945. He would win three more terms to the House from 1947 to 1953. In 1941, Egan married Neva McKittrick, a recent arrival to Valdez from Kansas. During World War II, where Alaska's own Aleutian Islands saw bloody combat between American and Imperial Japanese forces, Egan continued his political career. While still serving in the House of Representatives, Egan was elected as Mayor of Valdez in 1946. In 1953, Egan was elected to the upper house Alaska Senate.
[edit] The Constitutional Convention
Following the end of the war, the Territory of Alaska's political and geographical isolation was coming to an end. The construction of the Alaska Highway now linked the territory to the Lower 48 states and Canada, plus an increased military presence due to the Cold War with the neighboring Soviet Union had also brought the territory closer to the rest of North America.
In 1955, the Alaska Legislature ordered the creation of a constitutional convention to seek a state constitution suitable for Congressional approval. The convention met at the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus in November. Territorial Senator Egan was chosen to lead the body in drafting a new state document. Following the end of the convention a year later, the Alaska Constitution was sent to Alaskans as part of a referendum in 1958, passing easily. The statehood issue was turned over to the U.S. Congress later that year, passing by only one vote. President Dwight Eisenhower signed the resulting Alaska Statehood Act into law. Alaska was to become the 49th state.
[edit] Governorship
Scheduled to become a U.S. state on January 3, 1959, Egan decided to run as the first state governor. Egan won the race, becoming governor upon the state's admission. Egan, who had campaigned for statehood since the 1930s, had not only achieved one major political victory, but had also reached the state's highest office.
During his first governorship, Egan supervised the transition of Alaska's territorial bureaucracy into a state government. Egan also encouraged investment into the U.S.'s newest state, noting its slowly growing oil and tourist industries. During the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake, Egan supervised and directed the state's response to the disaster, an earthquake that still remains one of the strongest earthquakes of the modern era.
Leaving the governorship in 1966, Egan was elected again in 1970, serving a second term until 1974. The discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968 and the 1973 Oil Crisis in response to the Yom Kippur War played a large role in Egan's second governorship, as oil's demand increasingly played a role in the state's politics. In the later months of 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act, an act to reduce American dependence on Arab oil. Many environmental politicians in the state bitterly opposed this federal legislation during the second Egan governorship.
[edit] Later life
Following Egan's departure from the governorship in 1974, Egan retired from public and political life. He died 10 years following leaving office on May 6, 1984 at the age of 69 from lung cancer.
[edit] Legacy
Egan is considered one of the modern fathers of Alaska, and still remains a popular figure in the state for his passionate appeal for statehood and his gentlemanly politics. Egan struggled with public speaking throughout his life, yet still commanded an audience that was drawn to his charm and simple Alaskan roots. Egan was often noted for mingling with crowds effortlessly.
October 8 is now William Egan Day in Alaska.
The William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center in Downtown Anchorage is named in his honor.
| Preceded by Waino Edward Hendrickson (as Territorial Governor of Alaska) |
Governor of Alaska 1959–1966 |
Succeeded by Walter J. Hickel |
| Preceded by Keith Miller |
Governor of Alaska 1970–1974 |
Succeeded by Jay Hammond |
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| Persondata | |
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| NAME | Egan, William Allen |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Egan, Bill |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Governor of Alaska |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 8, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Valdez, Alaska |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 6, 1984 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Anchorage, Alaska |
