John Travers Wood

This article is about the congressman from Idaho. For other people with similar names, see John Wood (disambiguation).

John Travers Wood
The Idaho Statesman, November 3, 1952
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho's 1st district
In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953
Preceded by	Compton White, Sr.
Succeeded by	Gracie Pfost
Personal details
Born	(1878-11-25)November 25, 1878 Wakefield, England, United Kingdom
Died	November 2, 1954(1954-11-02) (aged 75) Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S.
Resting place	Forest Cemetery Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Margaret O. Thomson (1889–1978) (m. 1907–1954, his death)
Children	5
Residence	Coeur d'Alene
Education	Detroit College of Medicine (MD)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Rank	First Lieutenant
Unit	Medical Corps
Battles/wars	World War I

John Travers Wood (November 25, 1878 – November 2, 1954) was an American physician and politician who served as a one-term congressman from northern Idaho from 1951 to 1953.

Early life and education

Born in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, Wood immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1889. They settled in Woodridge, North Dakota, and he became a naturalized a citizen 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.

From 1910 to 1950, he worked as a surgeon for the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. In addition, he served as the mayor of Coeur d'Alene during 1911 and 1912, and founded the town's hospital. During World War I, he served as a first lieutenant in the medical corps of the U.S. Army.

Congress

In the 1950 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, 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

U.S. House elections (Idaho's 1st district): Results 1950–1952

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct
1950		Gracie Pfost	41,040	49.5%		John T. Wood	41,823	50.5%
1952		Gracie Pfost	54,725	50.3%		John T. Wood (inc.)	54,134	49.7%

Source:

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

External links

• United States Congress. "John Travers Wood (id: W000700)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• John Travers Wood at Find a Grave