Michael David Wood, (born 23 July 1948) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

historian and broadcaster. He has presented numerous well-known television documentary series from the late 1970s to the present day. Wood has also written a number of books on English history, including ''

In Search of the Dark Ages ''In Search of the Dark Ages'' is a BBC television documentary series, written and presented by historian Michael Wood, first shown between 1979 and 1981. It comprises eight short films across two series, each focusing on a particular character ...

'', ''The Domesday Quest'', '' The Story of England'', and ''In Search of Shakespeare''. He was appointed Professor of Public History at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

in 2013.

Early life and education

Wood was born in Moss Side,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

. He attended Heald Place Primary School in Rusholme. When he was eight, his family moved to Paulden Avenue,

Wythenshawe Wythenshawe () is a district of the city of Manchester, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in Cheshire, Wythenshawe was transferred in 1931 to the City of Manchester, which had begun building a massive housing estate there in the ...

where he could see historic

Baguley Hall Baguley Hall is a 14th-century timber-framed building in Baguley, Greater Manchester (), North West England. A former country house, historically in Cheshire, it is now Grade I-listed and a Scheduled Ancient Monument. History The current h ...

from his bedroom window. He went to Benchill Primary School. At Manchester Grammar School, he developed an interest in theatre, playing Grusha in the first British amateur production of Brecht's '' The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' and later Hamlet in ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. He took

A-levels The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

in English, French and History. Wood studied history and English at

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

, touring the United States for six weeks in his final year, and graduated with a second class Bachelor of Arts degree. Later, he undertook post-graduate research in Anglo-Saxon history at Oriel. Three years into his research for a DPhil, he left to become a journalist with

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

.Passed/Failed: An education in the life of Michael Wood, television historian
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 30 August 2007.

Career

In the 1970s Wood worked for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

in Manchester. He was first a reporter and then an assistant producer on current affairs programmes before returning to his love of history with his 1979–81 series ''

'' for

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

. He quickly became popular with female viewers for his blond good looks (he was humorously dubbed " the thinking woman's crumpet" by British newspapers), his deep voice and his habit of wearing tight jeans and a sheepskin jacket. Wood's work is also well known in the United States, where it receives much airplay on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

and on various

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

networks. The series ''Legacy'' (1992) is one of his more frequently broadcast documentaries on US television. Since 1990 Wood has been a director of independent television production company Maya Vision International. In 2006 he joined the

British School of Archaeology in Iraq The British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI) (formerly the British School of Archaeology in Iraq) is the only body in Britain devoted to research into the ancient civilizations and languages of Mesopotamia. It was founded in 1932 and its aim ...

campaign, the aim of which was to train and encourage new Iraqi archaeologists, and he has lectured on the subject. In 2013, Wood joined the University of Manchester as Professor of Public History.

Personal life

His girlfriend for ten years, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was the late journalist and broadcaster

Pattie Coldwell Patricia Ann Coldwell (14 May 1952 – 17 October 2002), known as Pattie Coldwell, was a British TV presenter and journalist. Early life Patricia Ann Coldwell was born on 14 May 1952 in Clitheroe, Lancashire, the daughter of Eunice (née ...

. He currently lives in north London with his wife, television producer Rebecca Ysabel Dobbs, and two daughters, Minakshi and Jyoti.

Honours

Wood was a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

Michael Wood Biography

Public Broadcasting Service The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

(PBS). until 2007. In 2009 he was awarded an

Honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

Doctorate of Arts The Doctor of Arts (D.A.; occasionally D.Arts or Art.D. from the Latin ''artium doctor'') is a discipline-based terminal doctoral degree that was originally conceived and designed to be an alternative to the traditional research-based Doctor of P ...

by Sunderland University. This was followed by the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters by the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

in 2011 and in 2015 he was awarded the President's Medal by the

British Academy The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the same year. It is now a fellowship of more than 1,000 leading scholars span ...

. Having previously been President of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, in 2017 he accepted the position of Honorary Life Vice President, offered in recognition of his work on the documentary series ''

Michael Wood's Story of England ''Michael Wood's Story of England'' is a six-part BBC documentary series written and presented by Michael Wood and airing from 22 September 2010. It tells the story of one place, the Leicestershire village of Kibworth, throughout the whole of En ...

''. Michael Wood is currently the president of the

Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding The Society for Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) is an organisation established in 1965 to promote understanding and friendship between British and Chinese people. The organisation has no political affiliation and is open to all who are inter ...

, an organization founded in 1965 to promote understanding and friendship between the British and the Chinese people. Wood was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 2008. Wood was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2021 New Year Honours The 2021 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to public history and broadcasting.

Television series

* ''

'' (1979–81) * ''

Great Railway Journeys ''Great Railway Journeys'', originally titled ''Great Railway Journeys of the World'', is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television. The premise of each programme is that the presenter, typically a well-known figu ...

'' ("Zambezi Express", 1980) * ''

Great Little Railways ''Great Railway Journeys'', originally titled ''Great Railway Journeys of the World'', is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television. The premise of each programme is that the presenter, typically a well-known fig ...

'' (episode 3: "Slow Train to Olympia", 1983) * ''

In Search of the Trojan War ''In Search of the Trojan War'' is a six-part BBC TV documentary series written and presented by Michael Wood, first broadcast in 1985 on BBC2. It examines the extent to which historical and archeological evidence matches the tale of the Troja ...

'' (1985) * ''Domesday: A Search for the Roots of England'' (1986) * '' Greece: The Hidden War'' (1986) * ''Art of the Western World'' (1989) * ''Legacy: A Search for the Origins of Civilisation'' (1992) * ''Lifeboat'' (1993) * ''

In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great ''In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great'' is a BBC documentary television series, first shown in 1998. Written and presented by historian and broadcaster Michael Wood, it retraced the travels of Alexander the Great, from Macedonia to the border ...

'' (1997) * '' Conquistadors'' (2000) * ''In Search of Shakespeare'' (2003) * ''In Search of Myths and Heroes'' (2005) * ''

The Story of India ''The Story of India'' is a BBC documentary series, written and presented by historian Michael Wood about the history of India. It originally aired on BBC Two in six episodes in August and September 2007 as part of the BBC season "India and Pak ...

'' (2007) * ''Christina: A Medieval Life'' (2008) * ''In Search of Beowulf'' (2009) (a.k.a. ''Michael Wood on Beowulf'') * ''

'' (2010) * '' The Great British Story: A People's History'' (2012) * ''

King Alfred and the Anglo Saxons ''King Alfred and the Anglo Saxons'' is a 2013 documentary in three parts written and presented by Michael Wood. Episodes Experts Janet Nelson Helena Hamerow Helena Francisca Hamerow, FSA (born 18 September 1961) is an American-born ...

'' (2013) * ''The Story of China'' (2016)

Documentaries

* ''Darshan: An Indian Journey'' (1989) * ''Traveller's Tales: The Sacred Way'' (1991) * ''Saddam's Killing Fields'' (1993) * ''

Secret History A secret history (or shadow history) is a revisionist interpretation of either fictional or real history which is claimed to have been deliberately suppressed, forgotten, or ignored by established scholars. "Secret history" is also used to desc ...

: Hitler's Search for the Holy Grail'' (1999) * ''Gilbert White: Nature Man'' (2006) * ''Christina: A Medieval Life'' (2008) * ''Alexander's Greatest Battle'' (2009) * ''Shakespeare's Mother; The Secret Life of a Tudor Woman'' (2015) * ''Ovid: The Poet and the Emperor'' (2017) * ''How China Got Rich'' (2019) * ''Du Fu: China's Greatest Poet'' (2020)

Bibliography

* ''In Search of the Dark Ages'' (BBC Books, 1981) * ''In Search of the Trojan War'' (1985) * ''Domesday: A Search for the Roots of England'' (1988) * ''Legacy: A Search for the Origins of Civilization'' (1992), London: Network Books/BBCbooks/London BCA. * ''The Smile of Murugan: A South Indian Journey'' (1995) * ''In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great'' (1997) * ''In Search of England: Journeys into the English Past'' (1999) * ''Conquistadors'' (2000) * ''In Search of Shakespeare'' (2003) * ''In Search of Myths and Heroes'' (2005) * ''India: An Epic Journey Across the Subcontinent'' (2007) * ''The Story of England'' (2010) * ''The Story of China '' (2020)

References

External links

*
Michael Wood
at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

* ;Writings
''The Story of the Conquistadors''''In Search of Shakespeare''''In Search of Myths and Heroes''"The Life of an Anglo-Saxon Princess". ''The Guardian'', 2010
;Interview
2012 video interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Michael 1948 births Living people English historians English documentary filmmakers Historians of antiquity Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford People educated at Manchester Grammar School Anglo-Saxon studies scholars Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Fellows of the Royal Historical Society People from Moss Side Recipients of the President's Medal (British Academy) Officers of the Order of the British Empire