Ernest Henry Gruening 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 Alaska from 1959 until 1969.

Edward Lewis "Bob" Bartlett, was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as a U.S. Senator. A key fighter for Alaska statehood, Bartlett served as the Secretary of Alaska Territory from 1939 to 1945, in Congress from 1945 to 1959 as a Delegate, and from 1959 until his death in 1968 as a U.S. senator. He was opposed to U.S. involvement in Vietnam, along with his fellow Senator Ernest Gruening, and also worked to warn people about the dangers of radiation. Many acts bear his name, including a major law known as the Bartlett Act, mandating handicap access in all federally-funded buildings.