1. In 1770, Russian explorer and navigator Alexei Chirikov spotted the Alaska Peninsula on June 11, marking the first recorded European sighting of the territory.

2. On June 11, 1867, the U.S. Army transferred control of the newly acquired territory of Alaska to civilian authority, with American businessman and politician William Seward serving as the first civilian governor.

3. In 1926, pilot Ben Eielson and mechanic Earl Borland achieved the world's first successful airplane landing on Alaska's Brooks Range on June 11, opening up new opportunities for aviation exploration in the region.

4. On June 11, 1942, Japanese forces bombed Dutch Harbor, located on Alaska's Aleutian Islands, in the first foreign attack on U.S. soil since the War of 1812.

5. In 1987, the Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred on June 11, when the oil tanker ran aground in Prince William Sound, releasing millions of gallons of crude oil into the waters of Alaska and causing significant environmental damage.