George William Wood (21 July 1781 – 3 October 1843)[1][2] was an English businessman, Member of Parliament and leading member of civil society in Manchester.
Life
George William Wood was born in Leeds, the son of William Wood, a Unitarian minister who was Joseph Priestley's successor at the Mill Hill Chapel, amateur botanist and campaigner against the Test Acts. His mother was Louisa Ann née Oates, the daughter of a wealthy Leeds family.[3]
Wood moved to Manchester around 1801 and became a prominent businessman there but, as a memorial in the Upper Brook Street Chapel cited, "having early in life engaged in commercial pursuits ... he quitted [sic] the pursuits of wealth for the nobler objects of public usefulness."[4] He was member of parliament for Lancashire South from 1832 to 1835,[1] and for Kendal from 1837 until his death.[2] He was a prime mover in the establishment of both the Royal Manchester Institution and the Manchester Mechanics' Institute,[4] and was one of the two inaugural vice-presidents of the Manchester Athenaeum.[5]
He died suddenly of a stroke at a meeting of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society.[6]
Honours and offices
- Fellow of the Linnaean Society;[4]
- Fellow of the Geological Society;[4]
- Vice-president of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society.[4]
References
- 1 2 Rayment, L. (2006). "The House of Commons Constituencies beginning with 'L'". Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page. Archived from the original on 14 September 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - 1 2 Rayment, L. (2007). "The House of Commons Constituencies beginning with 'K'". Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page. Archived from the original on 2 October 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ↑ Wykes (2004)
- 1 2 3 4 5 Kargon (1977) p.19
- ↑ Kargon (1977) p.171
- ↑ The Times, 7 October 1843
Bibliography
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
- Kargon, R. H. (1977). Science in Victorian Manchester: Enterprise and Expertise. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-1969-5.
- Wykes, D. L. (2004) "Wood, William (1745–1808)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press. Retrieved 16 August 2007 (subscription required)