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.

On April 30, 1803, representatives of the United States and
Napoleonic France completed negotiations for the Louisiana
Purchase, a massive land sale that doubles the size of the
young American republic.

On January 5, 1920, the New York Yankees major league baseball
club announced its purchase of the heavy-hitting outfielder
George Herman “Babe” Ruth from the Boston Red Sox for the
sum of $125,000.

Ruth had played six seasons with the Red Sox, leading them to
three World Series victories. On the mound, Ruth pitched a total
of 29 2/3 scoreless World Series innings, setting a new league
record that would stand for 43 years.

George Herman "Babe" Ruth
(February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948)

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.

The $7.2 million check used to pay for Alaska, equivalent
to $129 million in 2023. 

William Henry Seward (1801 – 1872)

 
ROSS SIMPSON

    
    
 John Warnock Hinckley Jr. will be 69 in May.