Thomas Wood FRS (25 September 1708 – 25 June 1799), was a British politician who briefly sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1779 to 1780.

Early life

Wood was born on 25 September 1708. The seventh son of Edward Wood and Elizabeth ( Bridger) Wood (daughter and heiress of Henry Bridger of

Bramley, Surrey Bramley is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish about three miles (5 km) south of Guildford in the Borough of Waverley, Surrey, Waverley in Surrey, south east England. Most of the parish is in the Surrey Hills National Lan ...

), he was from Littleton (then in Middlesex, now Surrey). He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

from 1718 to 1725 before matriculating at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

in 1725 and

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

in 1732.

Career

A barrister, he was called in 1735, made a bencher in 1766, and later served as Treasurer of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

where he had been admitted in 1729. In 1748, he succeeded to his brothers estates. A member of the Whig party, he was Member of Parliament for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

from 1779 to 1780. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in February 1761.

Personal life

On 2 October 1743 Wood was married to Anne Jones, daughter of Richard Jones. Together, they were the parents of two sons and three daughters, including: * Thomas Wood, who married Mary Williams (1752–1820), daughter and heiress of Sir Edward Williams, 5th Baronet, of Gwernyfed. Wood died on 25 June 1799.

Descendants

Through his son Thomas, he was a grandfather of Thomas Wood (1777–1860), MP for

Breconshire Brecknockshire ( or ), also known as the County of Brecknock, Breconshire, or the County of Brecon, was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was created in 1536 under the Laws in Wales ...

from 1806 to 1847; he married Lady Caroline Stewart, daughter of

Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry PC (Ire) (1739–1821), was a County Down landowner, Irish Volunteer, and member of the Irish Parliament who, exceptionally for an Ulster Scot and Presbyterian, rose within the ranks of Ireland's ...

and Frances Stewart, Marchioness of Londonderry (daughter of the Whig politician

Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (baptism, baptised 21 March 1714 – 18 April 1794) was an English lawyer, judge and Whig (British political faction), Whig politician who was first to hold the titl ...

References

People from the Borough of Spelthorne 1708 births 1799 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 Fellows of the Royal Society Lawyers from London {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub