William Nathaniel “Bill” Irving (1927 – 1987)
	
William Irving was born in Toronto. He earned a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Alaska in 1952, did graduate work at Harvard University, and completed a Ph.D at the University of Wisconsin in 1964. His thesis was on arctic small tool tradition. In 1965, he took a position as archaeologist with the National Museum of Man in Ottawa and conducted field work in the Yukon. He also taught at Carleton University before taking a teaching position at the University of Toronto in 1969. His first paper on the Yukon, in 1968, was on the Old Crow area and this was followed by a steady flow of publications on aspects of this part of Beringia. Irving directed the multidisciplinary northern Yukon research program based at the University of Toronto. The program focussed on Old Crow and the nearby Blueish Caves. Irving spent seventeen field seasons in the region, involving local residents in field research and crediting them for their assistance, insights, and discoveries. His belief that humans occupied Beringia as early as 150,000 years ago forced academics to critically examine accepted orthodoxies. Irving was internationally recognized as a leading scholar in arctic prehistory with significant contributions that were acknowledged during his lifetime.((Patrick Julig and William Hurley, “William Nathaniel Irving (1927-1987).” //Arctic// 41-4, Obituaries: 332-333.))