Seward William
(16.05.1801-10.10.1872)

American statesman.
Born in Florida, New York. In 1820 he graduated from the state college, then studied law and in 1822 received the right to practice law. He began it in 1823 in the city of Auburn, but soon showed great interest in politics, which gradually led him away from the main profession.
In 1830, Seward was elected to the Senate of the State of New York, and from that moment on he constantly, with some interruptions, was a member and leader of various political and state bodies that determined the activities of the state and the whole country. Becoming one of the founders of the Whig Party, Seward became the first governor of New York State, having stayed in this post for 1838–1842. His administration experienced serious difficulties due to internal differences in the party, but Seward managed to carry out a number of progressive reforms, which eventually strengthened the position of the party in the state. During his rule, a large number of discriminatory restrictions for foreigners were removed, many economic problems were settled, and the State Geological Survey was organized. It was during this period that Seward first showed himself as an implacable fighter against slavery.
During 1843–1849 there was a break in Seward's political activities, after which a new stage began at the state level. In 1849, he was elected to the US Senate, where he gained great influence both as a party leader and as advisor to President Z. Taylor, who opposed radical supporters of slavery. The speeches of Seward were very sharp and caused great irritation among the democrats of the southern states of the United States. When M. Filmore came to power in 1850 - a supporter of the compromise on the issue of slavery, Seward withdrew from the Whigs who supported the President and moved to the Republican Party created in 1854, becoming soon one of its leaders. In 1858, in a speech in Rochester, he called the growing divergence between the North and the South "irreconcilable conflict". This definition was later often cited by many political figures.
During the years 1861–1869 Seward was Secretary of State under Presidents A. Lincoln and E. Johnson, determined US foreign policy, which was supposed to be very subtle, thought out and balanced in the conditions of the civil war of 1861–1865. This was especially true of relations with England and France.
Great is the role of Seward in the acquisition in 1867 of Alaska. He had to overcome the resistance of numerous opponents of this transaction, the "stupidity of Seward", as they called it. Contemporaries underestimated the purchase of 586,412 square miles (1,518,800 sq. Km.) For 7,200,000 dollars (that is, 4.94 dollars / sq. Km.). Journalists excelled at inventing nicknames for a new land. The most innocuous were the Seward's Refrigerator (Seward's Icebox) and Johnson's polar bear garden. Alaska is currently celebrating Seward Day on the last Monday of March. In the town of Seward installed his bust.

At the end of life, in 1870–1871 Seward made a tour around the world, during which he received with the greatest honor in the capitals of all the leading European powers.

He died on his estate in Ohrn, New York. His last words addressed to his relatives were: “Love one another”. He was buried at the Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn with his wife and two children. On the tombstone epitaph: "He was true".  

The peninsula in the west of Alaska between the bays of Norton in the south and Kotzebue in the north. Its opening was completed by the expedition O.E. Kotzebue on "Rurik" in 1815-1818.
Island (Sewart) in the Norton Bay south of the Sjuard peninsula.