Alaska - US Flags [dot] Design

Back to flagsAboutGlossary

Alaska became a territory of the United States in 1912. In its journey to statehood, the Alaska Department of the American Legion held a 1927 flag design contest for children across Alaska, grades 7-12.

The chosen flag was designed by 13-year-old Benny Benson who lived at Jesse Lee Mission Home in Seward, a home for displaced children. He received a scholarship and a gold watch and became a hero and inspiration to Alaskans.

Alaska’s state song Alaska’s Flag was written as a poem by Marie Drake and later composed by Elinor Dusenbury. The women were inspired by Benny’s story and design.

Benny’s flag was officially adopted May 2, 1927 and it remained when Alaska gained statehood in 1959.

Composition

The Alaska flag features a field of blue with 7 small gold stars in the shape of the Big Dipper and one large gold star in the upper right.

In the 2001 North American Vexillological Association (NAVA) flag survey of United States and Canada flags, the flag of Alaska was ranked 5th out of 72.

Iconography

• 

  The Big Dipper

  strength, Ursa Major (The Great Bear)

• 

  The North Star

  Alaska as the northernmost state

Colors

The field of blue was chosen to represent the Alaskan sky and the forget-me-not, an Alaskan flower.

Alaska statute does not provide Cable or Pantone values for the colors of the flag.The hex values here are approximations.Blue#0f204bGold#ffb612

Construction

The Alaska flag should have a proportion of 1:1.416.

Alaska statute provides a detailed proportion and size chart, recreated here.

ArizonaHawaii

Sources

• Howe, Randy. Flags of the Fifty States: Their Colorful Histories and Significance. Guilford: The Globe Pequot Press, 2002. Print.
• Spartz, India M. Eight Stars of Gold: The Story of Alaska’s Flag. Juneau: Alaska State Museums, 2001. Print.
• Alaska Statutes Title 44. State Government § 44.09.020. State flag.
• Flag of Alaska - Wikipedia