An orphan boy designed Alaska’s state flag in 1927, when Alaska was still a United States territory and long before it officially became a state in 1959. John Ben Benson, more commonly known as Benny Benson, was 13 when he submitted his drawing to a children’s contest arranged by the territorial governor, who was seeking a design for the territory’s flag. The seventh grader submitted several entries, and he discovered one of them won the contest when a telegram came to his schoolroom at a Seward orphanage.
Alaska’s state flag depicts the unique beauty Benny Benson saw in his homeland. Inspired by the stars in the sky — the Big Dipper and the North Star — and the forget-me-nots growing in fields, the boy drew his first entry. It became the winner out of more than the 700 that were submitted by children in grades seven through 12.
The sky and the forget-me-nots are symbolized by the blue background color. The stars are depicted in gold. The North Star stands for the fact that Alaska would become the northernmost state when it was eventually admitted to the union. The Big Dipper, also known as Ursa Major, stands for the state’s strength. Ursa Major also is called the Great Bear.
Gold, the color of the eight stars on Alaska’s state flag, stands for wealth. Alaska is fortunate to have many riches, including the mines that sparked a gold rush in the late 1800s. The state also has a bounty of wildlife living within its interior and marine life along its shores.
Benny Benson was paid handsomely for his artistic effort. He received $1,000 US Dollars (USD) and a gold watch. On the back of the watch was an engraving of his winning design for Alaska’s state flag, and later in life he gave it to a state-run museum. He used the money to continue his education when he was older. He also had the pleasure of seeing his design flown as a real flag for the first time in 1927. The only thing missing from his original design is the year 1867, the year the United States bought Alaska from Russia, which officials decided to exclude.
The forget-me-not has been designated the state’s official flower. There are different kinds of the forget-me-not that grow in Alaska, but only one, the blue alpine variety, is the official flower. The perennial grows wild in many sites throughout the state.
