Henry Joseph Roden (August 8, 1874 – June 5, 1966) was Swiss born American prospector, lawyer and politician who served as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

of the

Territory of Alaska The Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an Organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The ...

as well as a member and subsequently president of the Alaska territorial senate.

Biography

Born in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

in 1874 Roden arrived in

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 ...

as part of the Klondike Gold Rush, arriving in

Rampart Rampart may refer to: * Rampart (fortification), a defensive wall or bank around a castle, fort or settlement Rampart may also refer to: * LAPD Rampart Division, a division of the Los Angeles Police Department ** Rampart scandal, a blanket ter ...

in the summer of 1898. In 1902 he began independently studying law, eventually passing the Alaska Bar exam in 1906 and served as assistant

US Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

in Fairbanks, assistant

Iditarod The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, more commonly known as The Iditarod (), is an annual long-distance sled dog race held in Alaska in early March. It travels from Anchorage to Nome. Mushers and a team of between 12 and 16 dogs, of which at leas ...

and as City Attorney of Iditarod. He was elected to the first Alaska territorial legislature in 1913 and was subsequently re-elected as part of the 12th legislature in 1935 and remained a Senator until the 15th legislature in 1941 when he served as Senate President. In 1941 he became Attorney general for the state of Alaska, a position which he held until 1944, when he stood unsuccessfully as the Democratic candidate for the Alaskan representative to the US Congress. Throughout this time Roden maintained interests in mining. In 1919 he and others incorporated the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...

Alaska Gold Mining Company with himself as president, which controlled a mine in

Funter Bay Funter Bay is a two-mile-long (3 km) bay on the western side of Admiralty Island near its northern tip, in the Alexander Archipelago of the U.S. state of Alaska. It lies within the Hoonah-Angoon Census Area, in the Unorganized Borough of Al ...

; in 1942 he was still an officer of the mining company, and following the start of the

Aleutian Islands campaign The Aleutian Islands campaign () was a military campaign fought between 3 June 1942 and 15 August 1943 on and around the Aleutian Islands in the American theater (World War II), American Theater of World War II during the Pacific War. It was t ...

and the evacuation of the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands the mine was leased to the US government to house some of the evacuees. As Attorney general in 1943 he inspected the mine and wrote a letter to

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

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 ...

expressing concern about the situation.

References

External Links

{{Authority control 1874 births 1966 deaths Members of the Alaska Territorial Legislature Presidents of the Alaska Senate Alaska lawyers People from pre-statehood Alaska People from the Territory of Alaska Alaska attorneys general Alaska Democrats