Review finds Alaska state flag designer was 14, not 13

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The state of Alaska has issued a corrected birth certificate for the teenage designer of the Alaska flag after researchers looking into his heritage found records indicating he was born more than a year earlier than previously believed. The change means he designed it when he was 14, not 13. A judge last week ordered the state to issue a birth certificate for John Ben Benson Jr. with the birthdate of Sept. 12, 1912. The order followed a petition by a researcher among those studying Benson’s heritage. Benson is known as Benny Benson. He is believed to be the only Indigenous person to design a state flag.