author
William Thomas Lopp
1864–1939
A missionary, teacher, and administrator in Alaska, he spent decades working at Cape Prince of Wales and became closely linked with the early reindeer industry there. He is also remembered for his part in the dramatic 1897–1898 Overland Relief Expedition to Point Barrow.
1 Audiobook
White Sox, the story of the reindeer in Alaska
by William Thomas Lopp
About the author
Born in Indiana in 1864, William Thomas Lopp was educated at Hanover College and began his career in schools before heading to Alaska in 1890. He worked at Cape Prince of Wales as a missionary and teacher, and his life became deeply connected with the education and day-to-day welfare of Native communities there.
Lopp is best known for promoting reindeer herding as a practical source of food, transport, and economic stability in Alaska. His work made him an important figure in the early development of the territory's reindeer program, and he later served in government education roles, including as head of Alaska's division of the U.S. Bureau of Education.
He also took part in the Overland Relief Expedition of 1897–1898, the famous effort to bring aid to stranded whalers near Point Barrow. Along with his public work, he wrote about Alaska and reindeer for younger readers, drawing on long firsthand experience in the North. No clearly suitable verified portrait image could be confirmed from the sources reviewed, so none is included here.