March 24, 1989: One of the worst oil spills in U.S. history began
when the supertanker Exxon Valdez, owned and operated by the
Exxon Corporation, ran aground on a reef in Prince William Sound
in southern Alaska.

An estimated 11 million gallons of oil eventually spilled into the
water. Attempts to contain the massive spill were unsuccessful,
and wind and currents spread the oil more than 100 miles from
its source, eventually polluting more than 700 miles of coastline. Hundreds of thousands of birds and animals were adversely
affected by the environmental disaster.

On October 18, 1867, the U.S. formally took possession of Alaska
after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less
than two cents an acre.

Indigenous peoples had settled the unforgiving territory thousands
of years earlier. The Alaska purchase comprised 586,412 square
miles, about twice the size of Texas, and was championed by
William Henry Seward, the enthusiastically expansionist
secretary of state under President Andrew Johnson.

Signing of the Alaska Treaty, The Alaska Purchase.

ROSS SIMPSON

Eric Patrick Clapton is an English rock and blues guitarist,
singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most
successful and influential guitarists in rock music. He
ranked second in Rolling Stone‘s list of the "100 Greatest
Guitarists of All Tim’‘ and fourth in Gibson‘s "Top 50
Guitarists of All Time". He was also named number five
in Time magazine’s list of "The 10 Best Electric Guitar
Players" in 2009. Clapton is 78 years old today.

On this day in 1896 – Gold was discovered in Canada’s Yukon
Territory. Within the next year more than 30,000 people rushed
to the area looking for gold.

Miner’s camp at the head of the Yukon River during the Klondike
Gold Rush.