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Biographies

Columbia River

This short list of biographies is designed to introduce students and teachers to Oregonians who have significantly influenced the region and the people who have lived in it. Many of the links lead to our partner project, The Oregon Encyclopedia.


 

A

John Jacob Astor (1763-1848), fur company magnate

B

George Baker (1868-1941), theater owner and mayor

Simon Benson (1851-1942), businessman and civic leader

Louise Bryant (1885-1936), illustrator, writer, and activist

Asahel Bush (1824-1913), newspaper editor and politician

C

Beatrice Morrow Cannady (1889-1974), civil rights activist

George Chamberlain (1845-1928), governor and reformer

Capt. William Clark (1770-1838), Corps of Discovery

Concomly (1765?-1830?), Chinook headman

D

Will Daly (1869-1924), mayor and labor reformer

David Douglas (1799-1834), botanist

George Drouillard (1776?-1810), trapper and Corps of Discovery interpreter

Thomas Jefferson Dryer (1808-1879), newspaper editor

Abigail Scott Duniway (1834-1915), newspaper editor and woman suffrage activist

E

Dr. Marie Equi (1872-1952), physician and activist

F

Sara Bard Field (1882-1974), poet and activist

Simon Fraser (1776-1862), fur trader and explorer

John William "Pete" French (1849-1897), cattle baron

G

Patrick Gass (1771-1870), Corps of Discovery

Fred L. Gifford (1878-1945), Grand Dragon of the KKK

Neil Goldschmidt (1940-), mayor and governor

H

Mark O. Hatfield (1922-2011), governor and senator

Ing "Doc" Hay (1862-1952),  pulsologist and pharmacist

Heinmot Tooyalakekt (Chief Joseph) (1840-1904), Nez Perce

Ron Herndon (1946-), civil rights activist

James J. Hill (1838-1916), railroad magnate

Ben Holladay (1819-1887), railroad magnate

K

Henry J. Kaiser (1882-1967), industrialist

Ira Keller (1899-1978), city planner

Ken Kesey (1935-2001), writer

L

Capt. Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809), Corps of Discovery

Gin Lin (c.1845-c.1900), miner

Esther Clayson Pohl Lovejoy (1869-1967), doctor, reformer, and woman suffrage activist

 

M

Alexander MacKenzie (1762-1820), explorer

Thomas McCall (1913-1983), journalist and governor

John McLoughlin (1784-1857), fur trader and "Father of Oregon"

Charles McNary (1874-1944), U.S. Senator

Julius Meier (1874-1937), mayor

John H. Mitchell (1835-1905), U.S. Senator

Stanley Moore (1914-1997), Professor of Philosophy

Wayne Morse (1900-1974), U.S. Senator

N

Maurine Neuberger (1906-2000), U.S. Senator

Richard Neuberger (1912-1960), U.S. Senator

Thomas Nuttall (1786-1859), botanist

O

Peter Skene Ogden (1790-1854), fur trader and explorer

P

Joel Palmer (1810-1881), trailblazer, politician, and Superintendent of Indian Affairs

Sylvester Pennoyer (1831-1902), mayor and governor

Walter Pierce (1861-1954), governor

R

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, spiritual commune leader

John "Jack" Reed (1887-1920), writer and revolutionary

S

Sacagawea (Agaideka Shoshone), Corps of Discovery

Harvey W. Scott (1838-1910), newspaper editor

William Stafford (1914-1993), poet

William Steel (1854-1934), conservationist

McCants Stewart (1877-1919), lawyer and civil rights activist

T

David Thompson (1770-1857), fur agent, explorer, and cartographer

Tsin-is-tum (Jennie Michel) (c.1820-1905), Clatsop

John Kirk Townsend (1809-1851), ornithologist

U

William U'Ren (1859-1949), political reformer

Dr. DeNorval Unthank (1899-1977), doctor and civil rights activist

V

Henry Villard (1835-1900), railroad magnate

W

Carleton E. Watkins (1829-1916), photographer

Henry Weinhard (1830-1904), brewer

Oswald West (1873-1960), governor and reformer

Sarah Winnemucca (1844?-1891) (Paiute), writer and interpreter

Y

Minoru Yasui (1916-1986), lawyer and civil rights activist

York (c.1770-?), Corps of Discovery