George William Wood (1781- October 1843)[1][2] was an English businessman, Member of Parliament and leading member of civil society in Manchester.
Contents |
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." 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]
He died suddenly of a stroke at a meeting of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society.[5]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for South Lancashire 1832 – 1835 With: Viscount Molyneux |
Succeeded by Lord Francis Egerton Richard Bootle Wilbraham |
| Preceded by John Foster-Barham |
Member of Parliament for Kendal 1837 – 1843 |
Succeeded by Henry Warburton |