John Ben Benson, Junior. was born in Chignik, Alaska. When he was 3 years old, his mother died, forcing his father to send him and his brother Carl to an orphanage, as Benny"s father could not take care of them. Benny grew up at the Jesse Lee Children"s Home in Unalaska and later in Seward.
He returned to the Aleutian Islands to work with his father at a fox farm at Ugaiushak Island.
He was an Alutiiq (Sugpiaq) born to a Swedish-American father, John Ben Benson, and Alutiiq-Russian mother, Tatiana Schebolein. After graduating from high school in 1932, Benny left the Jesse Lee Home. The rate for furs began to decline, so Benny moved to Seattle in 1936.
He used the $1,000 prize from the flag design competition to enroll in the Hemphill Diesel Engineering School for diesel engine repair.
In 1938, Benson married Betty Van Hise. The couple"s first child, Anna May, was born in October 1938.
Their second daughter, Charlotte Abbot, was born in June 1940. Benson"s right leg had to be amputated in 1969 due to an injury.
He died of a heart attack in Kodiak at the age of 58.
More than 30 years before Alaska was to become a state, the Alaska Department of the American Legion sponsored a territorial contest for Alaskan children in grades seven through twelve. Benny"s design was chosen to represent the future of the Alaska Territory. Up to that time, Alaskans had flown only the United States. flag since the territory was purchased from Russia in 1867.
His design was chosen over roughly 700 other submissions from schoolchildren territory-wide in grades 7–12.
Most other entries featured variations on the territorial seal, the midnight sun, the northern lights, polar bears, and/or gold pans. Benny looked to the sky for the symbols he included in his design.
Choosing the familiar constellation he looked for every night before going to sleep at the orphanage, he submitted this description with it:
Benson Boulevard, a major east-west thoroughfare in midtown Anchorage, was built in the 1970s and named for him. Benny Benson Memorial is located at Mile 1.4 of the Seward Highway in Seward, Alaska.
On April 11, 2013, in honour of his centenary, the Alaska Legislature passed SB31, which named the airport in Kodiak "Kodiak Benny Benson State Airport.".
