Primary Name: Dalton, James W.
Filed as: dalton_james_w
Also known as: Jim Dalton; James Dalton
Occupation / Association: Engineer; Arctic exploration; U.S. Navy Seabees; Arctic Contractors
Born: 1913
Died: May 8, 1957, Fairbanks, Alaska
Parents: Jack Dalton; Anna Krippeahne-Dalton
Spouse: Kathleen “Mike” Fitzpatrick (m. 1950, Barrow, Alaska)
Children: George Dalton; Elizabeth “Libby” Dalton
Associated places: Fairbanks, Alaska; Dutch Harbor, Alaska; Barrow (Utqiaġvik), Alaska; North Slope, Alaska
Keywords: James W Dalton, Jim Dalton, Dalton Highway namesake, Arctic Contractors exploration, Naval Petroleum Reserve No 4 Alaska
Biography
James W. Dalton was born in 1913, the son of Alaska pioneer Jack Dalton and Anna Krippeahne-Dalton. He followed his father’s career in the North and eventually earned his own place in Alaska history.
Dalton returned to Alaska in the 1930s and earned an engineering degree from the University of Alaska in 1937.
During World War II he first worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Fairbanks. He later served with the Naval Construction Battalions, commonly known as the Seabees, at Dutch Harbor and other locations in the Pacific theater.
After the war, from 1946 to 1953, Dalton worked with the quasi-government Arctic Contractors on the exploration of oil reserves held in trust for the U.S. Navy. The area, located on Alaska’s North Slope, was then known as Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4.
James W. Dalton married Kathleen “Mike” Fitzpatrick in Barrow in 1950. The couple had two children, George and Elizabeth “Libby.”
Dalton died of a heart attack on May 8, 1957, in Fairbanks. The North Slope haul road running from the Yukon River to Point Barrow was later named the Dalton Highway in his honor.
Sources
Tags: James W Dalton, Jim Dalton, Dalton Highway, Jack Dalton family, Arctic Contractors, North Slope exploration