William B. Wood

William Burke Wood (May 26, 1779 - September 23, 1861) was an American actor and theatre manager. He was the first actor born in North America to achieve notable success in the theatre. He co-managed several theatres in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., with William Warren from 1809 to 1826. He managed the Arch Street Theatre in 1828 and the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia from 1829 to 1846. He published his Personal Recollections of the Stage in 1855.

Early life He was born on May 25, 1779, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, His parents emigrated to Canada before the American Revolutionary War but returned to New York City with Wood circa 1784. He worked as a clerk. He was the first North American born actor to have notable success in the theatre. and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery, Section L, Plot 129.

Personal life On 30 January 1804, he married Juliana Westray, a British-born actress. She had joined the company in which Wood was playing, and after her marriage continued to act in the theatres that he managed. The couple had a son, William Wightman Wood, who became a journalist and author based in Macau and Canton, China.

Publications Personal Recollections of the Stage, Philadelphia: Henry Carey Baird, 1855