Gruening, << GREE nihng, >> Ernest (1887-1974), was a leader in Alaska’s drive for statehood. Gruening served as territorial governor of Alaska from 1939 to 1953. In 1954, he wrote The State of Alaska, which criticized the federal government’s neglect of Alaska. In 1956, Alaskans made him an unofficial “United States Senator” to work in Washington, D.C., for statehood. Gruening, a Democrat, was elected to the United States Senate in 1958, the year Congress voted to admit Alaska as a state. He served in the Senate until 1969. A statue of Gruening represents Alaska in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Gruening was born in New York City on Feb. 6, 1887, and graduated from Harvard University. He worked for many years as a newspaper reporter and as an editor. Gruening became President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s adviser on Latin-American affairs in 1933. He moved to Alaska in 1939. During the 1960’s, Gruening strongly criticized the involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War. He died on June 26, 1974.
