In the Beginning Russia's first human beings arrived in Alaska between 15,000 and 13,000 BC.
At that time Alaska was part of a land bridge that extended across to Siberia. People followed the herds of animals they hunted. In the era in the 18th century, Europeans arrived. In 1741 a man known as Vitus Bering led a Russian expedition to Alaska. During this expedition, they discovered there was great wealth in the form of animal furs in Alaska. Unfortunately, they also brought diseases that the native people had no immunity to. The British arrived in 1778 when Captain Cook sailed there. (Cook Inlet is named after him). George Vancouver sailed to Alaska in 1794.