John Wood

John Wood (4 November 1789 – 10 October 1856) was a British Whig politician, MP for Preston 1826–1832.

Early life Wood was the son of Ottiwell Wood (1759–1847), a Manchester fustian manufacturer and Unitarian, and his wife Grace Grundy. He was baptised at Mosley Street Unitarian Chapel, Manchester, on 19 November 1789.

Intended for the Unitarian ministry, Wood entered the University of Glasgow in 1806, but left without taking a degree in 1808, and went into business in Liverpool. He joined William Corrie, son of Edgar Corrie, who soon went into partnership with his brother Edgar Corrie the younger, and trading as William and Edgar Corrie.

Wood then embarked on a legal career, entering the Inner Temple in 1820, and was called to the bar in 1825, practising as a barrister on the northern circuit. He was then Chairman of the Board of Excise from 1838 to 1849. In 1849, he was also appointed chair of the Board of Stamps and Taxes again. In 1849, the Board of Excise and the Board of Stamps and Taxes merged into the Board of Inland Revenue, of which Wood was the first chairman, serving until 1856.

He was active in the management of University College London, where he was a member of the council from 1835, and chaired the management committee 1845–1856.

He died in Bath in 1856.

Family On 9 December 1828, Wood married Elizabeth Serjeantson, daughter of Rev. James Serjeantson, rector of Kirby Knowle, Yorkshire. They had two daughters.