John West (1809–1888) was a Scottish inventor and businessman who emigrated to Canada, California and later Oregon where he operated a cannery and exported tuna to Great Britain.

The Pelling Stanley and Company in the UK imported his tuna and paid for the rights to use his name, which led to the establishment of the use of "John West" as a brand name.

[1] In 1853, West and his wife Margaret took up a 640-acre (2.6 km2) Donation Land Claim along the lower Columbia River upon which he soon began construction of a water-powered sawmill.

The Westport Lumber Company continued production there until February 1956, when it became uneconomical to operate the mill because of a scarcity of logs sufficient in size.

[4] West invented an automated can-filing machine and was the first on the lower Columbia River to make use of salmon waste for oil and fishmeal by-products.