1914Born on October 8 in Valdez, Alaska, to Cora Allen Egan and
William E. Egan.1921Father killed in a snowslide. Mother raised the family of
eight children.1932Graduated from Valdez High School.19321943Held various jobs, including cannery laborer, truckdriver,
bartender, gold miner, fisherman, aviator, and retail clerk.1937Elected to Valdez City Council.1940Married Neva McKrittick on November 16. Elected to the Alaska
Territorial House of Representatives from the Third Judicial Division.1941Wrote and introduced the first bill for a territorial
referendum on statehood for Alaska. Daughter Elin Carol born in December, but
died at the age of seven months following a brief illness.1943Reelected to the Territorial House of Representatives.19431946Served for three years in the U.S. Army Infantry and Air
Corps, Ladd Field, Fairbanks, Alaska.1946Elected mayor of Valdez while still serving in the military.
Did not know that his name had been placed on the ballot.19461956Owned and operated the Valdez Supply Company, a general
merchandise store.1947Reelected to the Territorial House of Representatives. Son
Dennis born in Juneau.1949Reelected to the Territorial House of Representatives.1951Reelected to the Territorial House of Representatives. Elected
speaker of the House of Representatives.1953Elected to the Territorial Senate.19551956Reelected to the Territorial Senate. Served as a delegate to
and president of the Alaska Constitutional Convention, which convened November
8, 1955.19561958Elected as one of Alaska's Tennessee Plan senators. Lived in
Washington, D.C., and lobbied for Alaska statehood until the passage of the
Alaska Statehood Act, June 30, 1958.1958Elected governor of Alaska by an overwhelming margin.1959Inaugurated in January as the first elected governor of
Alaska. Hospitalized in Seattle immediately after the inauguration for surgery
and recuperation until June 1959.1960Elected vice-chairman of the Western Governors'
Conference.1961Elected chairman of the Western Governors' Conference.1962Reelected governor of Alaska.1966Defeated in bid for reelection by Walter Hickel.19661967Sales representative, Equitable Life Insurance Company,
Anchorage.19671969President, West Coast Mortgage and Investment Company, Inc.
and Security Income Corporation, Seattle.1970Elected governor of Alaska for the third time.1971Named Alaskan of the Year.1972Awarded an honorary LL.D., University of Alaska.1974Defeated by Jay Hammond in a reelection bid for his fourth
term.1984Died May 6.From the guide to the William A. Egan Papers, 1940-1984, (University of Alaska Fairbanks Alaska Polar Regions Collections & Archives)