Elmer Edwin Rasmuson (February 15, 1909 – December 1, 2000) was an American banker,

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

and politician in the territory and state of

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. He led the family business,

National Bank of Alaska National Bank of Alaska (originally known as Bank of Alaska) was Alaska's largest financial institution for the latter part of the 20th century. In 2000, it was purchased by Wells Fargo, giving the larger bank a presence in 23 states. Founding a ...

, for many decades as president and later chairman. He also served as

Mayor of Anchorage This is a list of mayors of Anchorage, Alaska, United States. Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage was incorporated as a city (Alaska), city on November 23, 1920. The Greater Anchorage Area Borough, which encompassed the city, was created in January 1964. ...

from 1964 to 1967 and was the Republican nominee for

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from Alaska in the 1968 election, losing the general election to

Mike Gravel Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel ( ; May 13, 1930 – June 26, 2021) was an American politician and writer who represented Alaska in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1981 as a member of the Democratic Party. He ran for president twice: in 200 ...

Early life

Elmer Edwin Rasmuson was born in

Yakutat, Alaska The City and Borough of Yakutat (, ; Tlingit: ''Yaakwdáat''; ) is a borough in the state of Alaska. Yakutat was also the name of a former city within the borough. The name in Tlingit is ''Yaakwdáat'' (meaning "the place where canoes rest"). I ...

to Edward Anton Rasmuson (1882–1949) and Jenny Olson Rasmuson, Swedish immigrants and missionaries of the

Evangelical Covenant Church The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is an evangelical denomination with Pietism, Pietist Lutheran roots. The Christian denomination, denomination has 129,015 members in 878 congregations and an average worship attendance of 219,000 people in th ...

who had met in Yakutat. Elmer had an older sister,

Evangeline ''Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie'' is an epic poem by the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, written in English and published in 1847. The poem follows an Acadian girl named Evangeline and her search for her lost love Gabriel during the e ...

, who born in 1906. Elmer's father took correspondence courses in law, and in 1915, moved the family to

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, where he passed the

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. The family moved back to

within the year, stopping first in

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

before settling in

Skagway The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with the large ...

, where Edward found work as a magistrate. Elmer attended Skagway School. In his memoirs, he called Skagway a "good town in which to grow up." While he was still in school, he worked for the Bank of Alaska, which his father had taken over in 1918. He graduated from Queen Anne High School in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

in 1925, and after a couple of years at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

, transferred to

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1928, earning a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in 1930 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1935.

Family and work

He went to work for

Arthur Andersen Arthur Andersen LLP was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corpo ...

, and in 1939, married Lile Bernard of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. They had three children: Edward Bernard (born 1940),

Lile Gibbons Lile Gibbons is an American politician and businesswoman. Early life and education Gibbons was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, the daughter of Lile Bernard and Elmer E. Rasmuson. Gibbons's father served as president and chairman of the ...

, and Judy. In 1940, Andersen sent Elmer to work in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, mostly for

Texaco Texaco, Inc. ("The Texas Company") is an American Petroleum, oil brand owned and operated by Chevron Corporation. Its flagship product is its Gasoline, fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owned the Havoline motor oil brand. Texaco was an Independ ...

. Elmer returned to Skagway in 1943, recalled by his father, who began to suffer from heart disease. Elmer was installed as president of the

. In 1945, the bank's headquarters were moved to Anchorage. Edward Anton Rasmuson died in 1949, leaving the bank to his son. In 1954, together with brother-in-law

Robert Atwood Robert Bruce Atwood (March 31, 1907 – January 10, 1997) was an American journalist who served as the long-time editor and publisher of the '' Anchorage Times.'' He was also an early advocate of Alaska statehood. Biography Robert Bruce Atwo ...

(who had married Evangeline in 1932), Elmer invested in

Richfield Oil Richfield Oil Corporation was an American petroleum company based in California from 1911 to 1966. In 1966, it merged with Atlantic Refining Company to form the Atlantic Richfield Company (later renamed ARCO). History The Richfield Oil Corporat ...

's exploration of the

Kenai Peninsula The Kenai Peninsula ( Dena'ina: ''Yaghenen'') is a large peninsula jutting from the coast of Southcentral Alaska. The name Kenai (, ) is derived from the word "Kenaitze" or "Kenaitze Indian Tribe", the name of the Native Athabascan Alaskan tribe ...

. The investment yielded great profits after oil was discovered in 1957 near the

Swanson River The Swanson River (Denaʼina language, Dena'ina: ''Yaghetnu'') is a stream, long, on the Kenai Peninsula of south-central Alaska in the United States. Beginning at Gene Lake in the Swanson Lakes district, it flows southwest then north to Number ...

. In 1955, Elmer created, with his mother, the charitable Rasmuson Foundation. It was to become "the most generous private donor in Alaska history.

Elmer's wife, Lile, died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in 1960. The same year, a merger made National Bank of Alaska the largest bank in the state. In 1961, Elmer married Mary Louise Milligan, national director of the

Women's Army Corps The Women's Army Corps (WAC; ) was the women's branch of the United States Army. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), on 15 May 1942, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United S ...

. In 1972, Elmer received the Golden Plate Award of the

American Academy of Achievement The American Academy of Achievement, colloquially known as the Academy of Achievement, is a nonprofit educational organization that recognizes some of the highest-achieving people in diverse fields and gives them the opportunity to meet one ano ...

Political career and legacy

Critical of government response to the

Good Friday earthquake The 1964 Alaska earthquake, also known as the Great Alaska earthquake and Good Friday earthquake, occurred at 5:36 PM AKST on Good Friday, March 27, 1964.

of 1964, Rasmuson ran for

, and was elected. He served a three-year term, overseeing reconstruction of the city. In 1967, he organized the foundation of the Anchorage Historical and Fine Arts Museum, intended to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the

Purchase of Alaska The Alaska Purchase was the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Empire by the United States for a sum of $7.2 million in 1867 (equivalent to $ million in ). On May 15 of that year, the United States Senate ratified a bilateral treaty ...

. In 1968, he ran for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

in the Republican

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, beating out

Ted Stevens Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Party (United St ...

for the party's nomination. But he lost the

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, coming second to

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. Incumbent Senator

Ernest Gruening Ernest Henry Gruening ( ; February 6, 1887 – June 26, 1974) was an American journalist and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Gruening was the governor of the Alaska Territory from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator from A ...

, who had lost his party's nomination to Gravel, placed third. In 1969, Rasmuson stepped down as Regent of the

University of Alaska Fairbanks The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF or Alaska) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-, National Sea Grant College Program, sea-, and National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, space-grant research university in ...

, a position he had held since 1950. In 1970, the

Elmer E. Rasmuson Library The Elmer E. Rasmuson Library (often referred to as Rasmuson Library) is the largest research library in the U.S. state of Alaska, housing just over one million volumes. Located on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus, it is named in honor o ...

was dedicated to his service. In 1974, Elmer Rasmuson retired from work at the National Bank of Alaska, transferring the business to his son, Edward B. Rasmuson. In 1980, Elmer Rasmuson was elected as the first chairman of the Board of Trustees of the newly formed

Alaska Permanent Fund The Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) is a constitutionally established permanent fund managed by a state-owned corporation, the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation (APFC). It was established in Alaska in 1976 by Article 9, Section 15 of the Alaska Sta ...

. He would hold this position until 1982. Elmer E. Rasmuson died December 1, 2000, in Seattle, as a result of congestive heart failure. He concluded decades of philanthropic work by leaving his fortune to charity, including $19 million for the University of Alaska Fairbanks and $400 million for Rasmuson Foundation.

References

Obituary from the Anchorage Daily News

"Elmer Rasmuson " (Alaska Journal of Commerce)

"Charity, Inc." (Anchorage Daily News)

Bibliography

* Rasmuson, Elmer E. and Cole, Terrence. ''Banking On Alaska: The Story of the National Bank of Alaska'' (2 volumes).

University of Alaska Press The University Press of Colorado is a nonprofit publisher that was established in 1965. It is currently a member of the Association of University Presses and has been since 1982. Initially associated with Colorado public universities, the Univ ...

: Fairbanks. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rasmuson, Elmer E. 1909 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century mayors of places in Alaska Alaska Republicans American bankers American people of Swedish descent Harvard University alumni Mayors of Anchorage, Alaska People from the Municipality of Skagway Borough, Alaska University of Alaska Fairbanks people University of Alaska regents University of Washington alumni Yakutat City and Borough, Alaska 20th-century American academics