Irene Esther Ryan (née Irvine; September 10, 1909 – November 23, 1997) was an American geologist, aviator, and legislator during Alaska's history as both a

United States territory In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters (around islands or continental tracts). The United States asserts sovereign rights for ...

and as a

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 so ...

. She was a member of the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives and of the Alaska State Senate. She was instrumental in the creation of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, which helped insure state revenue from oil and gas exploration done by outside entities. Ryan was involved with the creation of the

Anchorage International Airport Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is a major airport in the U.S. state of Alaska, located southwest of downtown Anchorage. The airport is named for Ted Stevens, who served as a senator of Alaska from 1968 to 2009. It is included in ...

. She was the first female pilot to solo in the Territory of Alaska, and the first woman to earn a geology degree from

New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech or NMT), formerly New Mexico School of Mines, is a public university in Socorro, New Mexico, United States. It offers over 30 Bachelor of Science degrees in technology, the scien ...

. She was inducted into the

Alaska Women's Hall of Fame The Alaska Women's Hall of Fame (AWHF) recognizes women natives or residents of the U.S. state of Alaska for their significant achievements or statewide contributions. It was conceived by the board of directors of the Alaska Women's Network (AWN) ...

in 2011.

Background and early life

Irene Esther Irvine was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

on September 10, 1909. Her parents were Leonard Laukki Irvine and Esther Neiminen Irvine. While working in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, she heard stories about

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 ...

from an aviator uncle based in the territory. Aged 21, she relocated to

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

. She began flying lessons at

Merrill Field Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile (1.6 km) east of downtown Anchorage, Alaska, Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport is owned by Municipality of Anchorage. It opened in 1930 as Anchorage A ...

east of Anchorage. On June 23, 1932, she was certified as the first female aviator in the territory to solo. She briefly left Alaska to study at

, where she earned 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 ...

degree in

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

, the first woman to do so at that institution. On February 19, 1938, she married fellow student John Edward "Pat" Ryan. In February 1941, she gave birth to their first child Marcella. A month later, the couple relocated back to Alaska, where the couple's other daughter Patricia was born.

Career

Her civilian career was largely as a consultant to Alaskan industries tied to her field of expertise. She was involved with development of the oil and gas exploration in the state, and the

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 ...

to Fairbanks pipeline. Ryan was responsible for the design of seventeen airports in Alaska, including

. In 1952 she invested her money in a housing project in Anchorage. In 1955, Ryan was elected to the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives. In 1959, she became a member of the

Alaska State Senate The Alaska State Senate is the upper house in the Alaska State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. It convenes in the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau, Alaska and is responsible for making laws and confirming or rejectin ...

. It was during her years in the legislature when Ryan used her educational and professional background to benefit the welfare of her state. She used her influence to get the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission created in 1955, insuring the state's revenues from oil and gas exploration by outside entities. Governor

William Allen Egan William Allen Egan (October 8, 1914 – May 6, 1984) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the first governor of Alaska from January 3, 1959, to 1966 and 1970 to 1974, as well as a shadow U.S. senator from Alaska Territory from 1 ...

appointed Ryan as commissioner of the Department of Economic Development for the state of Alaska during his second term.

Death and legacy

Irene E. Ryan died on November 23, 1997, aged 88, and was buried at Angelus Memorial Park in Anchorage. In 2011, she was inducted into the

References

External links

Irene Ryan
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Irene E. 20th-century American geologists 1909 births 1997 deaths Democratic Party Alaska state senators American women geologists American people of Finnish descent Aviators from Alaska Engineers from Alaska Members of the Alaska Territorial Legislature New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology alumni Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska Politicians from Boston State cabinet secretaries of Alaska Women state legislators in Alaska Women territorial legislators in Alaska American women aviators 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American women politicians Fellows of the Society of Women Engineers