John Wood, the Elder

John Wood, the Elder, (1704 – 23 May 1754, Bath), was an English architect, working mainly in Bath.

In 1740 he surveyed Stonehenge and the Stanton Drew stone circles. He later wrote extensively about Bladud and Neo-Druidism. Because of some of his designs he is also thought to have been involved in the early years of Freemasonry.

His notable work in Bath included: St John's Hospital, Queen Square, Prior Park, The Royal Mineral Water Hospital, the North and South Parades and The Circus. Wood also designed important buildings outside Bath, including the reconstruction of Llandaff Cathedral, Buckland House, The Exchange, Bristol, and Liverpool Town Hall. He has been described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "one of the outstanding architects of the day".

Early life

Wood was born in Twerton near Bath, and baptised in St. James’s Church (now demolished). He received a good but basic education at King Edward's School. His father George was a local builder.

During his teenage years and early twenties, Wood worked for Robert Benson, the first Baron Bingley at his estate, Bramham Park, Yorkshire. He then became involved in speculative builds on the Cavendish estate in London.

John Wood (canoeist)

John Joseph Wood (June 7, 1950 – January 23, 2013) was a Canadian sprint canoer who competed from the late 1960s to the later 1970s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won the silver medal in the C-1 500 m event at Montreal in 1976. The medal was Canada's first in the sport since 1952.

Wood also won a silver medal in the C-2 500 m event at the 1977 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Sofia, and won a bronze medal in sailing at the 1979 Pan American Games in San Juan.

Wood was featured prominently in the 1978 documentary Paddles Up! on YouTube (originally produced by Wolf Ruck Productions for Canoe Ontario), which promotes the sport of sprint canoe-kayak in Canada. In the film, Wood is shown training in his C-1, running, and in the weight room. Wood provides an accompanying voice-over that discusses the appeal of sport and canoeing in particular: "What I enjoy most about paddling in a race is winning. But that's not necessarily what I enjoy most about paddling. I get real satisfaction out of training: just spinning along out of doors."

John Wood (diplomat)

Lionel John Wood QSO (born 1944), is the current Chancellor of the University of Canterbury, and a former New Zealand diplomat. He was Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and served two separate terms as New Zealand's Ambassador to the United States in Washington.

Early life

Born in Kaikoura, Wood was educated at the University of Canterbury, graduating with an MA (first class honours) in 1964. He then studied at Balliol College, University of Oxford, earning a BPhil.

Professional career

Wood joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1969, and served as First Secretary in Tokyo in 1974. He then worked as Prime Minister Rob Muldoon’s Foreign Policy adviser, and served as deputy chief of Mission at the New Zealand Embassy in Bonn.

Wood was Deputy Chief of Mission at New Zealand’s Embassy in Washington from 1984 to 1987, and Chargé d'Affaires at the post from 1984 to 1985, at a key time in New Zealand’s relationship with the United States, including New Zealand’s withdrawal from the ANZUS treaty.

John Wood (design theorist)

John Wood, DipAD, ADF(Manc), FRSA (b. 25 August 1945) is Emeritus Professor of Design at Goldsmiths College, University of London. In Professor Geoffrey Crossick's introduction to Wood's inaugural lecture at Goldsmiths, University of London on 21 October 2008, he said that Wood has had "a transforming influence on design theory and practice." He taught many Young British Artists when he was Deputy Head of the Fine Art Department at Goldsmiths between 1978 and 1988. He has received AHRC and EPSRC funding for research into metadesign.

Biography

Born in Bath Wood attended Harrow County School for Boys, and then studied Fine Art at Manchester School of Art. His final year degree show (1968) consisted of electronic sound installations that were influenced by the physical presence of visitors. Examples of his early works include: 'King of Shouting House' (1969) - a computer assisted play, for the ICA; 'Tune Doodler' (1972) - mass-produced electronic sculpture commissioned by Jasia Reichardt. He also created "solar energy artworks" - 'Black Box' - control circuit regulated a practical solar roof at Eithen-y-Gaeir, North Wales (1974) and Sunsharer' window maximized solar energy for domestic use without compromising plant needs (1975).