John Travers Wood (November 25, 1878 – November 2, 1954) was an American

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

and politician who served as a one-term U.S. representative from northern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

from 1951 to 1953.

Early life and education

Born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Wood immigrated with his parents to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1889. They settled in Woodridge, North Dakota, and he became a naturalized a

citizen Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality ...

in 1901. After graduating public schools there, he taught school for six years. He then graduated from Detroit College of Medicine.

Career

After graduating from medical school, Wood moved to Hannah, North Dakota, where he operated a medical practice before moving west to

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Coeur d'Alene ( ; ) is a city and the county seat of Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. It is the most populous city in North Idaho and the principal city of the Coeur d'Alene Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 54,628 at th ...

. From 1910 to 1950, he worked as a surgeon for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. In addition, he served as the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Coeur d'Alene during 1911 and 1912, and founded the town's hospital. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he served as a first lieutenant in the

medical corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are exam ...

of the U.S. Army.

Congress

In the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

election, Wood ran as a Republican for the open seat in Congress from Idaho's first district. He took office at age 72 and served a single term, narrowly losing his re-election bid in 1952 to Gracie Pfost. During his term, he also mentioned his distrust of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, citing its charter's similarities to the Soviet Union's constitution, and mentioned as much to the U.S. Flag Committee.

Personal life

Wood left the House in January 1953 and returned to Coeur d'Alene, where he died less than two years later.

Election results

Source:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, John Travers 1878 births 1954 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Idaho Politicians from Wakefield Physicians from Idaho American surgeons English emigrants to the United States Wayne State University alumni Mayors of places in Idaho People from Cavalier County, North Dakota Politicians from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho United States Army personnel of World War I Wayne State University School of Medicine alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Idaho Naturalized citizens of the United States 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives