John Wesley North (January 4, 1815 – February 22, 1890) was an American abolitionist, lawyer, and politician. A founder of the Republican Party of Minnesota, North also served in Minnesota's constitutional convention. As a legislator in the Minnesota Territorial Legislature, North was influential in founding the University of Minnesota. He was appointed as Nevada's first surveyor general and as an associate justice on Nevada's territorial Supreme Court. He was the founder of the cities of Northfield, Minnesota and Riverside, California.