Daniel Alexander Sutherland (April 17, 1869 – March 24, 1955), nicknamed "Fighting Dan", was an American businessperson and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

during the 1920s as the

delegate Delegate or delegates may refer to: * Delegate, New South Wales, a town in Australia * Delegate (CLI), a computer programming technique * Delegate (American politics), a representative in any of various political organizations * Delegate (United S ...

from what was then the

Alaska Territory The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; th ...

. Sutherland was born in

Pleasant Bay, Nova Scotia Pleasant Bay ( gd, Am Bàgh Toilichte) is a community on the western coast of Cape Breton Island, on the shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Inverness County, Nova Scotia, Inverness County, Nova Scotia. The community is located on the Cabot Trai ...

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. He moved with his parents to

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in 1876, where he attended the

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

. He was later employed as a grocer's clerk, and subsequently engaged in the fish business. Sutherland moved to

Circle City, Alaska Circle (also called Circle City; Gwichʼin: ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 104, up from 100 in 2000. Circle is northeast of Fairbanks at the end ...

in 1898. When gold was discovered in the sands of Nome in 1900 he moved across the territory and became a

prospector Prospector may refer to: Space exploration * Prospector (spacecraft), a planned lunar probe, canceled in 1962 * ''Lunar Prospector'', a NASA spacecraft Trains * Prospector (train), a passenger train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western ...

eventually becoming a co-owner of a mining company. In 1909, he moved to

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and t ...

. After a campaign that crossed the Alaska by

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and t ...

, he was elected to the first territorial senate from 1912 to 1920, serving as its president in 1915. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he enrolled in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

. He was very popular, and was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

to the

67th 67 may refer to: * 67 (number) * one of the years 67 BC, AD 67, 1967, 2067 * ''67'', a 1992 song by Love Battery from the album ''Between the Eyes'' * 67 (rap group), a drill music group from London See also * 67th Regiment (disambiguation) * 67th ...

, 68th, 69th, 70th, and 71st Congresses, serving from March 4, 1921, to March 3, 1931. He earned his nickname for his combative style on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1930. Sutherland supported home rule for the territory, and wanted to break Alaska's dependence on shipping companies based out of the West Coast. He also promoted

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines. ...

as a way to deliver

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

and needed supplies across the Alaska Bush and

Interior Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

during the winter months, when they were inaccessible by steamship, roads, or most other forms of transportation. He lobbied for the first experimental flights by the

U.S. Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

, which were carried out in February 1924, and when a

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious d ...

struck Nome in 1925, he supported an air rescue. Governor

Scott Bone Scott Cardelle Bone (February 15, 1860January 26, 1936) was the fourth Territorial Governor of Alaska, serving from 1921 to 1925. A Republican, he was appointed by President Warren G. Harding. He is perhaps best known for making the decision ...

ultimately decided to use a dog sled relay in what became known as the

1925 serum run to Nome The 1925 serum run to Nome, also known as the Great Race of Mercy and The Serum Run, was a transport of diphtheria antitoxin by dog sled relay across the U.S. territory of Alaska by 20 mushers and about 150 sled dogs across in days, saving t ...

, but in the 1930s aircraft did replace the dog sled as the primary form of transportation. After his ten years as a delegate, Sutherland was a purchasing agent for the Ogontz School in the state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

from 1931 to 1950. He died in Abington on March 24, 1955, and his remains were cremated and deposited in St. Paul's Church Cemetery in

Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Elkins Park is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is split between Cheltenham and Abington Townships in the northern suburbs outside of Philadelphia, which it borders along Cheltenham Avenue roughly from Ce ...

References

* Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury (2003). ''The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race against an Epidemic''. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. .

External links

Dan Sutherland
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Daniel Alexander 1869 births 1955 deaths American military personnel of World War I Delegates to the United States House of Representatives from Alaska Territory Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alaska Members of the Alaska Territorial Legislature 20th-century American politicians People from Inverness County, Nova Scotia Politicians from Juneau, Alaska People from Nome, Alaska Presidents of the Alaska Senate Republican Party Alaska state senators United States Navy sailors United States Navy reservists