DEAN OF THE HOUSE

Alaska’s Only Congressman, Don Young, Dies On Flight at 88

After nearly five decades in office, the congressman died after reportedly losing consciousness while traveling home.

Alaska’s sole U.S. representative, the colorful and at times controversial Don Young, died at 88 years old after reportedly losing consciousness on a flight from Los Angeles to Seattle while on his way home. Young’s former chief of staff Jack Ferguson told the Anchorage Daily News that the congressman “couldn’t be resuscitated.” Young was the longest-serving member of Congress, having assumed office in 1973 when Richard Nixon was president. His career has at times been marked by controversy, including when he received a $59,000 fine from the House Committee on Ethics in 2014 in part for allegedly misusing campaign funds.