John Wood (4 November 1789 – 10 October 1856) was a British Whig politician, MP for Preston 1826–1832.
[1] Intended for the Unitarian ministry, Wood entered the University of Glasgow in 1806, but left without taking a degree in 1808, and went into business in Liverpool.
[1][2] Wood then embarked on a legal career, entering the Inner Temple in 1820, and was called to the bar in 1825, practising as a barrister on the northern circuit.
[1] Standing for election as a Whig in Preston in 1826, Wood was elected alongside Edward Smith-Stanley (the future Earl of Derby and three-time prime minister), defeating the Radical William Cobbett and the anti-Catholic candidate Robert Smith Barrie.
[1] Wood consistently supported the Whig/Radical opposition, effectively led by Joseph Hume.