Primary Name: Distin, William Langmead
Filed as: distin_william_langmead
Also known as: General William Langmead Distin, William L. Distin
Occupation / Association: First Surveyor-General of Alaska; Civil War veteran; Illinois National Guard officer; Charter Member, Pioneers of Alaska Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6
Born: February 9, 1843, Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: November 20, 1914, Chicago, Illinois
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Associated places: Cincinnati, Ohio; Illinois; Sitka, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Chicago, Illinois
Keywords: William Langmead Distin, William L Distin, General Distin Alaska Surveyor General, Distin Avenue Juneau
Biography
General William Langmead Distin was a charter member of the Pioneers of Alaska, Juneau Men’s Igloo No. 6, and served as the first Surveyor-General of Alaska.
Distin was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 9, 1843. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army and participated in many of the war’s major engagements.
Following the war, he served in the Illinois National Guard and acted as aide-de-camp to Governors Hamilton, Oglesby, and Fifer of Illinois. He also served a term as Grand Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic.
On August 7, 1897, President William McKinley appointed Distin the first Surveyor-General of Alaska, a position he held until October 18, 1913.
In the fall of 1906, he transferred the records, papers, and furnishings of the Governor’s Office from Sitka to Juneau, an action that effectively established Juneau as the territorial capital.
Distin Avenue, a short residential street branching off Indian Street in central Juneau, was named in his honor. The street had originally been named Farnum Street for Oliver T. Farnum.
William Langmead Distin died in Chicago on November 20, 1914.
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