Michael Wood (historian)
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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 Moss Side is an inner-city area of Manchester, England, south of the city centre, It had a population of 20,745 at the 2021 census. Moss Side is bounded by Hulme to the north, Chorlton-on-Medlock, Rusholme and Fallowfield to the east, W ...
,
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 Rusholme () is an area of Manchester, England, two miles south of the city centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north, Victoria Park and Longsight to the east, F ...
. 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 The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...
, he developed an interest in theatre, playing Grusha in the first British amateur production of
Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...
's ''
The Caucasian Chalk Circle ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle'' (german: Der kaukasische Kreidekreis) is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a ...
'' 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 au ...
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 Anglo-Saxon England or Early Medieval England, existing from the 5th to the 11th centuries from the end of Roman Britain until the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066, consisted of various Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon kingdoms until 927, when ...
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 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 exam. ...
...
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 ''
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 ...
'' for BBC2. 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. 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 (PBS). until 2007. In 2009 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by
Sunderland University , mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge , established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status) , staff = , chancellor = Emeli ...
. This was followed by the honorary degree of
Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
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_lab ...
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 inte ...
, 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 (OBE) in the 2021 New Year Honours for services to public history and broadcasting.


Television series

* ''
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 ...
'' (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 figur ...
'' ("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'' (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'' (1997) * ''
Conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
'' (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'') * ''
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 ...
'' (2010) * '' The Great British Story: A People's History'' (2012) * '' King Alfred and the Anglo Saxons'' (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: 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