<sod>'''John Wilson''' (1826&nbsp;– September 15, 1900) was an Irish-born pioneer of the American West, a successful businessman in [[Portland, Oregon]], [[United States]], where he was a prominent civic leader, an avid collector of books, and a philanthropist.  Today he is principally remembered as a great supporter of the Library Association of Portland, precursor of the [[Multnomah County Library]], to which he donated his entire collection of over 8,000 volumes at his death in September 1900.  Many of his more important volumes continue to form the core of the collection of The John Wilson Special Collection, named in his honor.<eod>
<sod>'''John Wilson''' (c. 1826&nbsp;– September 15, 1900) was an Irish-born pioneer of the American West, a successful businessman in [[Portland, Oregon]], [[United States]], where he was a prominent civic leader, an avid collector of books, and a philanthropist.  Today he is principally remembered as a great supporter of the Library Association of Portland, precursor of the [[Multnomah County Library]], to which he donated his entire collection of over 8,000 volumes at his death in September 1900.  Many of his more important volumes continue to form the core of the collection of The John Wilson Special Collection, named in his honor.<eod>