John McLoughlin
McLoughlin, John (1784–1857), a Canadian-American pioneer and fur trader. As a superintendent of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1824–45, McLoughlin was the real ruler of the sparsely populated American Northwest. For aiding United States settlers, he is called the “father of Oregon.”
McLoughlin was born in Rivière du Loup, Quebec. He was licensed as a physician. After Britain ceded the Oregon territory to the United States in 1846, McLoughlin settled on lands at Oregon City, Oregon, and became a United States citizen. A statue of him, donated by Oregon, is in the Capitol, Washington, D.C.