John Ben "Benny" Benson Jr. (October 12, 1913 – July 2, 1972) was born in Chignik, Alaska. When he was three years old, his mother died. His father sent him and his brother Carl to boarding school because Benny's father could not take care of them. Benny grew up in Unalaska and later in Seward.

Fame came to him from designing the Alaska flag. Benny was the winner of the contest run for Alaska students in grades seven to twelve in 1926. The Alaska Legislature adopted the design as the official flag for the Territory of Alaska on May 2, 1927. Later, the drafters of the Alaska constitution stipulated that the territorial flag would become the official flag of the State of Alaska.^[1]