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Dashed edge = started before, or continues beyond, this day
Events on Saturday 3 January 1959 1
1959Alaska becomes a U.S. stateAdmitted as the 49th state of the UnionAlaska was formally admitted to the United States as its 49th state. The territory had been purchased from Russia in 1867 and pursued statehood for decades before Congress approved it. Its admission was followed months later by Hawaii.