High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! John Irving (November 24, 1854 – August or October 10, 1936) was a steamship captain in British Columbia, Canada. He began on the Fraser River at the age of 18 and would become one of the most famous and prosperous riverboat captains of the era. His father, William Irving was known as the "King of the River" and the neighborhood of Irvington in Portland, Oregon is named in honor of their family.