Who was the first European to discover or step foot in Alaska?

• A. Vitus Berring
• B. George William Stellers
• C. Vitus Bering
• D. James Cook

Answer: (B)

Georg Wilhelm Steller is the best answer because he was the German naturalist who joined Vitus Bering’s Russian expedition and became the first European to set foot on Alaska’s shores in 1741. His careful observations of the land, plants, and animals provided the first detailed European account of Alaska, making him the trailblazer in European contact with the region. While Bering led the voyage and mapped parts of the area, it was Steller who actually landed and documented what was there. James Cook visited Alaska later, on a separate set of voyages, so Steller’s landing stands out as the earliest well-documented European arrival in Alaska.