Zimri Mullen Parvin, known in his life as Zimri M. Parvin or Z. M. Parvin, was a composer and professor of music who lived in Salem and Portland, Oregon, during the latter part of his life. He was born in Ripley County, Indiana in 1843, served in the Civil War in 64th and 151st Illinois Infantry, and married Addie Sutton in 1866. He studied music from 1868 to 1874, and became the director of music at the State Normal School of California (now San Jose State University) in 1875. In 1883, he was appointed dean of the College of Music at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, a post he held until his move to Portland in 1906. He was also director of the Albany Conservatory of Music in Albany, Oregon. In Portland, he helped to found the Northwestern Normal School of Music and Art. He was an expert on harmony and published many compositions, including "The wide world knows the Portland Rose."