OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Panter, Patrick

​PANTER, PANNITER, or PANTHER, PATRICK (1470?–1519), abbot of Cambuskenneth, was born about 1470 at Montrose, probably at Newman's Walls, half a mile north of the burgh, where his family had resided from the time of Robert III. He was educated in Scotland, and later was a fellow student with Hector Boece [q. v.] at the Collège Montaigu at Paris. He returned about 1500, and was appointed rector of Feteresso in Mearns, and preceptor of the Maison-Dieu at Brechin. James IV entrusted him with the education of Alexander, his illegitimate son, afterwards archbishop of St. Andrews, and in 1505 gave him the post of royal secretary. In this capacity he wrote the remarkable series of state letters on which his reputation as a latinist rests. In 1510 he appears as custumar-general for Scotland. He was probably soon afterwards elected abbot of Cambuskenneth, which title he held in 1515–16. After the death of James IV he fell into disgrace on account of his opposition to the regent John, duke of Albany. In August 1515 he was imprisoned in Inchgarvie in the Firth of Forth, and his property was confiscated. He was soon, however, reconciled, and he set out for France on 17 May 1517 in the company of Gavin Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, to aid the schemes of the bishop of Ross, and to effect the treaty with Francis I known as the treaty of Rouen. He is styled in the exchequer rolls of 1516 and 1518 rector of Tannadice. He died at Paris in 1519. He had a natural son David, who was legitimised on 12 Aug. 1513.
His official letters are extant in four manuscripts, three in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, and one in the British Museum. A selection formed the first volume of Ruddiman's 'Epistolæ Jacobi Quarti, Jacobi Quinti, et Mariæ Regum Scotorum,' published in 1724 [see Panter, David]. A reproduction of his signature will be found in Small's edition of the 'Works of Gavin Douglas' (vol. i. p. lxxxv).
G. G. S.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Pantulf, Hugh

​PANTULF, HUGH (d. 1224?), sheriff of Shropshire, was a son of Ivo, grandson of William Pantulf or Pantolium [q. v.] He first appears as a witness to a charter at Shrewsbury, 1175–6 (Eyton, Shropshire, viii. 154), and in 1178 was amerced for a trespass on the king's forest in Northamptonshire (Dugdale, Baronage, i. 434). After Michaelmas 1179 he was made sheriff, and remained in office till Michaelmas 1189 (Eyton, ix. 165). In 1186 he witnessed a charter at Feckenham (Eyton, Court and Itinerary, p. 270), and towards the close of that year acted as justiciar in the Staffordshire circuit, and sat at Lichfield. In 1187 his tour extended through Staffordshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and pleas and conventions were held and tallages assessed by him (ib. p. 281). In 1188 he was at Geddington, Northamptonshire, with the king, and in February 1189 (ib. p. 298) a fine was levied in the Curia Regis at Shrewsbury before Hugh. Again in that year he held pleas in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Staffordshire. In 1190 he was in the king's court at Westminster (Eyton, vii. 12). He received lands in Herefordshire from Richard I (Testa de Nevill, p. 56). In 1204 he was the king's messenger, with a safe-conduct to Gwenwynwyn, prince of Powis (Rot. Pat. p. 45), and in 1206 he was at John's court at Nottingham. He was charged with waste and neglect in controlling the stores of the royal castles during his sheriffdom, and made to pay part of the deficiency on the sheriff's ferm, amounting to 360l. 1s. 10d.; of this he was excused 200l. (Eyton, iii. 68). His name appears on the scutage rolls of 1194–7. In the ‘Testa de Nevill (p. 54–5) he is stated to have held by barony. He died before December 1224. He married Christiana, daughter of William Fitzalan [q. v.],’ and received as her dowry Badminton in Herefordshire, which he granted to Lilleshall Abbey in 1215–18. He had five sons—William, Ivo, Alan, Hugh, and one R., prebendary of Bridgnorth.
William (d. 1233) succeeded him. Probably it was he who in 1210 served John in his Irish campaign, and received grants of land in Kilkenny, Cells, and Carrickfergus, Fowre, and Dublin, for which in 1224 he was charged 8l. 11s. 4d. (Eyton, ix. 167, n.) Before 1226 he married Hawise Fitz Warin (ib. vii. 75). In December 1225 he was ordered to render account at Westminster for a fifteenth taken in Shropshire (ib. ix. 168), where he held five knights' fees of the lands escheated from Robert of Bellême [q. v.] In 1226 a close writ ordered the settlement of a dispute between him and Madoc ap Griffin at Bromfield to be made at Oswestry. He died in 1233. By a second wife, Alice, he left one daughter, Matilda, who married, first, Ralph le Botyler, and then Walter le Hopton, and died before 1292 (Dugdale, pp. 434–5).
M. B.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, George Adam

​WOOD, Sir GEORGE ADAM (1767–1831), major-general royal artillery, governor of Carlisle, was born in 1767. After passing through the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, he received a commission as second lieutenant in the royal artillery on 24 May 1781. His further commissions were dated: lieutenant, 15 May 1790; captain-lieutenant, 7 Jan. 1795; captain, 3 Dec. 1800; major, 24 July 1806; lieutenant-colonel, 1 Feb. 1808; brevet colonel, 4 June 1814; regimental colonel, 11 May 1820; major-general, 27 May 1825. He served with the army under the Duke of York in Flanders in the campaigns 1793 to 1795, taking part in the principal operations. Shortly after his return to England he went to the West Indies, and was present under Abercromby at the capture of St. Lucia in May 1796, and of St. Vincent in June of that year. In February 1797 he sailed with Abercromby's expedition from Martinique to the Gulf of Paria, was at the capture of Trinidad on 17 Feb., and at the subsequent unsuccessful attempt on Porto Rico.
Wood served with distinction in the Mediterranean from 1806 until 1808; he then went to Portugal, took part in Sir John Moore's campaign, was at the battle of Coruña on 16 Jan. 1809, and returned with the British army to England. In July he was in the expedition under the Earl of Chatham to Walcheren, and was at the siege ​of Flushing and its capture on 14 Aug. He was knighted on 22 May 1812. He commanded the royal artillery of the army under Sir Thomas Graham (afterwards Lord Lynedoch) [q. v.] which co-operated with the allies in Holland and Flanders. Landing at Rotterdam in December 1813, he was at the siege of Antwerp in January 1814, and at the action of Merxem on the 13th of that month. He was at the unsuccessful assault on Bergen-op-Zoom on 8 March, and the subsequent blockade of that place and of Antwerp. For his services he received brevet promotion, and was made an aide-de-camp to the king.
In 1815 Wood commanded the whole of the royal artillery in the Waterloo campaign, in the battles of Quatre Bras (16 June) and of Waterloo (18 June), in the march to Paris and the operations against the fortresses of Maubeuge, Landrecy, Marienbourg, Philippeville, and Cambray, and at the entry into Paris on 7 July. For his services in this campaign Wood was mentioned in despatches, was made a C.B., received the Waterloo medal, and was permitted to accept and wear the insignia of the fourth class of the order of St. Wladimir of Russia, the third class of the order of Wilhelm of the Netherlands, and the knighthood of the order of Maria Theresa of Austria; and in the following year he was made a knight commander of the royal Hanoverian Guelphic order. He commanded the British artillery of the army of occupation in France until 1819, when he returned to England. He was appointed governor of Carlisle on 18 June 1825. He died in London on 22 April 1831.
R. H. V.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, James (1760-1839)

​WOOD, JAMES (1760–1839), mathematician, was born on 14 Dec. 1760 at Turton in the parish of Bury, Lancashire. His parents were weavers, but afterwards the father opened an evening school, and himself instructed his son in arithmetic and algebra. From Bury grammar school, which he attended for some years, he proceeded on a school scholarship to St. John's College, Cambridge, where he was admitted a sizar on 14 Jan. 1778, and subsequently enjoyed several exhibitions. He was senior wrangler and fellow of his college, graduating B.A. in 1782, M.A. in 1785, B.D. in 1793, and D.D. in 1815. He filled many offices in the university, including that of vice-chancellor (1816). He was admitted master of St. John's College on 11 Feb. 1815, and continued to hold the post till his death. He was appointed dean of Ely in November 1820, and instituted rector of Freshwater, Isle of Wight, in August 1823, but continued to pass the chief part of his time in college, where he resided for about sixty years. He was for many years the most influential man in the university, his high ​personal character, great natural ability, sound judgment, moderation, forbearance, and other qualities making him a model ruler of a college. He was a considerable benefactor to St. John's, both during his life and by his will, which provided that the college should be residuary legatee. About 50,000l. thus came to its coffers. His library was also left to the college.
Wood died in college on 23 April 1839, and was interred in the college chapel. A statue by Edward Hodges Baily was erected in the ante-chapel, and there are portraits in the hall and in the master's lodge. An engraved portrait was published in 1841. Wood's works, which were for many years standard treatises, are: 1. ‘The Elements of Algebra,’ Cambridge, 1795, 8vo; many subsequent editions appeared, the eleventh to the sixteenth (1841–61) being edited by Thomas Lund, who also wrote a ‘Companion’ and a ‘Key’ to the work. 2. ‘The Principles of Mechanics,’ 1796, 8vo; 7th edit. 1824. J. C. Snowball brought out a new edition in 1841, but in the opinion of Whewell it was spoiled. 3. ‘The Elements of Optics,’ 1798, 8vo; 5th edit. 1823. The above originally formed portions of a series known as the ‘Cambridge Course of Mathematics.’ Wood was F.R.S., and wrote in the ‘Philosophical Transactions’ for 1798 on the ‘Roots of Equations.’ He also contributed a paper on ‘Halos’ to the ‘Memoirs’ of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, 1790.
C. W. S.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, David Edward

1904 Errata appended.
​WOOD, Sir DAVID EDWARD (1812–1894), general, son of Colonel Thomas Wood, M.P., of Littleton, Middlesex, by Lady Constance, daughter of Robert Stewart, first marquis of Londonderry [q. v.], was born on 6 Jan. 1812. After passing through the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, he obtained a commission as second lieutenant in the royal artillery on 18 Dec. 1829. His further commissions were dated: lieutenant, 20 June 1831; second captain, 23 Nov. 1841; first captain, 9 Nov. 1846; lieutenant-colonel, 20 June 1854; brevet colonel, 18 Oct. 1855; regimental colonel, 8 March 1860; major-general, 6 July 1867; colonel-commandant of the royal artillery, 8 June 1876; lieutenant-general, 26 Nov. 1876; general, 1 Oct. 1877.
After serving at various home stations, Wood went in 1842 to the Cape of Good Hope, where he took part in the campaign against the Boers, returning to England in 1843. He received the war medal. In 1855 he went to the Crimea, where he commanded the royal artillery of the fourth division at the battles of Balaclava and Inkerman and in the siege of Sebastopol. He afterwards commanded the royal horse artillery in the Crimea. He was mentioned in despatches, and for his services was promoted to be brevet colonel, made a companion of the order of the Bath, military division, received the war medal with three clasps, and was permitted to accept and wear the Turkish medal, the insignia of the fourth class of the order of the Medjidie, and of the fourth class of the Legion of Honour.
In October 1857 Wood arrived in India to assist in the suppression of the Indian mutiny, and commanded the field and horse artillery under Sir Colin Campbell, the commander-in-chief. He did excellent service with the force under Brigadier-general W. Campbell on 5 Jan. 1858 against the rebels at Mausiata, near Allahabad, when the mutineers were driven from their positions and followed up by horse artillery. He was brigadier-general commanding the field and horse artillery at the final siege of Lucknow, for his share in which he was honourably mentioned in despatches. He took part in various subsequent operations, and on his return to England in 1859 was made a knight commander of the order of the Bath, military division, and received the Indian mutiny medal with clasp for Lucknow.
In 1864 and 1865 Wood commanded the royal artillery at Aldershot, and from 1869 to 1874 he was general-commandant of Woolwich garrison. The grand cross of the order of the Bath was bestowed upon him in 1877. He died at his residence, Park Lodge, Sunningdale, Berkshire, on 16 Oct. 1894, and was buried at Littleton, Middlesex, on the 20th. Wood married, in 1861, Lady Maria Isabella Liddell (d. 1883), daughter of the first Earl of Ravensworth.
R. H. V.
Dictionary of National Biography, Errata (1904), p.283 N.B.— f.e. stands for from end and l.l. for last line
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# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, Edmund Burke

​WOOD, EDMUND BURKE (1820–1882), Canadian judge and politician, was born near Fort Erie in Ontario on 13 Feb. 1820. He graduated B.A. at Overton College, Ohio, in 1848, studied law with Messrs. Freeman and Jones of Hamilton, Ontario, and in 1853 was admitted to the Canadian bar as an attorney, receiving the appointments of clerk of the county court and clerk of the crown at Brant. In 1854 he was called to the bar of Ontario and entered into partnership with Peter Bull Long. In 1863 he was returned to the parliament of Ontario for West Brant as a supporter of the government of John Sandfield Macdonald. He sat in the house until 1867, when the union of the colonies took place. At the first general election he was chosen a member of the Ontario house of assembly, and also sat in the Canadian House of Commons until 1872, when he resigned his seat in the commons on the passage of the act forbidding ​the same person to sit in both assemblies. In July 1867 he entered the Ontario coalition ministry of John Sandfield Macdonald as provincial treasurer. He gained a high reputation as financial minister, his budget speeches being clear and able. He introduced the scheme for the settlement of the municipal loan fund of Upper Canada, and brought to a conclusion the arbitration between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec on the financial questions raised by confederation, drafting the award with his own hand. In December 1871 he resigned office, though retaining his seat in parliament. His action diminished his popularity, and he was accused of deserting his leader while the fortunes of his government were wavering. In 1872 he was made queen's counsel, and in 1873 was elected a bencher of the Law Society. In the same year he resigned his seat in the Ontario legislature, and on his return to the Canadian House of Commons for West Durham he vehemently attacked Sir John Alexander Macdonald's government for their action in connection with the Pacific scandal. He held his seat until 11 March 1874, when the administration of Alexander Mackenzie [q. v.] appointed him chief justice of Manitoba. In this capacity he instituted several important legal reforms. His decision in the case of Ambrose Lepine, who was tried for his part in the murder of Hugh Scott during the Red River rebellion of 1870, was upheld by the English courts. His judicial conduct failed, however, to give universal satisfaction, and in 1882 an attempt was made to impeach him in the House of Commons at Ottawa for ‘misconduct, corruption, injustice, conspiracy, partiality, and arbitrariness,’ and a petition was presented in support of the charges. Wood replied, denying the accusations and justifying his conduct. A special commission was appointed to investigate the charges against him, but before any progress had been made in the matter he died at Winnipeg in Manitoba on 7 Oct. 1882. Wood had a singularly deep voice, and Thomas D'Arcy McGee [q. v.] gave him the name of ‘Big Thunder.’ He was an able man, but he was accused of being unscrupulous.
[Appleton's Cyclop. of American Biogr.; Dominion Ann. Reg. 1882, p. 364.]
E. I. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, George (1743-1824)

​WOOD, Sir GEORGE (1743–1824), judge, born on 13 Feb. 1743 at Roystone, near Barnsley in Yorkshire, was the son of George Wood (1704–1781), vicar of Roystone, by his wife Jane, daughter of John Matson of Roystone. He was intended for a solicitor, and was articled to an attorney at Cawthorn, named West. At the end of his articles West, impressed by his ability and assiduity, urged him to study for the bar. Entering the Middle Temple, he commenced as a special pleader, and established such a reputation that he obtained many pupils, among whom were Edward Law (afterwards Lord Ellenborough), Thomas Erskine, and Charles Abbott (afterwards Lord Tenterden). Immediately on being called he was engaged by the crown for all the state prosecutions commencing in December 1792. He joined the northern circuit, and on 5 Nov. 1796 he was returned to parliament for Haslemere in Surrey, retaining his seat until 1806. In April 1807 he was appointed a baron of the exchequer and was knighted. As a judge he was extremely painstaking, his apprehension being rather accurate than quick. He was a supporter of prerogative and took so strong a stand against the free criticism of the executive by the press that Brougham threatened to move his impeachment. He resigned his office in February 1823, and died on 7 July 1824 at his house in Bedford Square. He was buried in the Temple church. By his wife Sarah he left no issue.
Wood printed for private circulation ‘Observations on Tithes and Tithe Laws,’ which he afterwards published in 1832 (London, 8vo).
E. I. C.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Wood, Herbert William

​WOOD, HERBERT WILLIAM (1837–1879), major royal engineers, son of Lieutenant-colonel Herbert William Wood of the Madras native infantry, was born in India on 17 July 1837. Educated at Cheltenham College, he joined the military college of the East India Company at Addiscombe in February 1854, received a commission as second lieutenant in the Madras engineers on 20 Sept. 1855, and, after the usual course of professional instruction at Chatham, arrived at Madras on 26 Oct. 1857. He was at once posted to the Sagar field division under Major-general Whitlock acting against the mutineers, and was present at the affairs of Jhigan on 10 April 1858 and Kabrai, at the battle of Banda on the 19th, the capture of Kirwi on 6 June, the action in front of Chitra Kote, the forcing of the Panghati Pass, and subsequent action. He was promoted to be lieutenant on 27 Aug. 1858, and continued to do duty with the column until March 1859, receiving the medal for the campaign.
After employment as executive engineer in the public works department in the North-West Provinces, he was transferred to Madras in 1860. He was promoted to be captain on 15 Jan. 1864. He served as field engineer in the Abyssinian campaign from January to June 1868, succeeding Captain Chrystie in charge of the works at Zulla, was thanked in despatches, and received the war medal. In December 1872 he was appointed to Vizagapatam, and on 24 Aug. of the following year he was promoted to be major. Obtaining three years' furlough, he accompanied the Grand Duke Constantine's expedition, sent under the auspices of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society to examine the Amu Darya. He published in 1876 the results of his travels in an octavo volume entitled ‘The Shores of Lake Aral,’ which attracted attention at the time, and should be read by all who would thoroughly understand the difficulties with which the Russians have to contend in Central Asia.
Wood returned to India in June 1876, but, after serving in the Madras presidency in a bad state of health, he was seized with paralysis and died on 8 Oct. 1879 at Chingleput. Wood was a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and of the Royal and Imperial Russian Geographical societies, and a corresponding member of the Society of Geography of Geneva. He issued at Geneva in 1875 a short account in French of the bed of the Amu Darya.
R. H. V.
# Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Orridge, Benjamin Brogden

​ORRIDGE, BENJAMIN BROGDEN (1814–1870), antiquary, born in 1814, set up in business in London as a medical agent and valuer. From 1863 until 1869 he was an active member of the court of common council for the ward of Cheap. As chairman of the library committee he distinguished himself by his exertions for the preservation and investigation of the mass of records belonging to the corporation. He died after a long illness on 17 July 1870 at his residence, 33 St. John's Wood Park.
Orridge was fellow of the Geological Society, and member of the London and Middlesex Archæological Society. To the ‘Transactions’ of the latter he contributed some valuable papers, including the ‘City Friends of Shakespeare’ (iii. 578–80) and an ‘Account of some Eminent Members of the Mercers' Company,’ which was read at the general meeting held at Mercers' Hall on 21 April 1869.
He also published: 1. ‘A Letter on Eminent Londoners and Civic Records,’ 8vo, London, 1866, addressed to the court of common council. 2. ‘Some Account of the Citizens of London and their Rulers, from 1060 to 1867,’ 8vo, London, 1867, a very useful summary of the biography of the lord mayors, accompanied by pedigrees of the more distinguished of their descendants among the aristocracy. 3. ‘Some Particulars of Alderman Philip Malpas and Alderman Sir Thomas Cooke, K.B., Ancestors of Sir Francis Bacon (Lord Bacon) and Robert Cecil (first Earl of Salisbury),’ 8vo, London, 1868 (another edition, 4to, undated); originally read before the London and Middlesex Archæological Society on 20 April 1868, and printed in an abridged form in the ‘Transactions’ (iii. 285–306). 4. ‘Illustrations of Jack Cade's Rebellion, from Researches in the Guildhall Records; together with some newly found Letters of Lord Bacon,’ 4to, London, 1869.
[Trans. of London and Middlesex Archæolog. Soc. iv. 71; City Press, 23 July 1870; Notes and Queries, 4th ser. vi. 106; Cat. of Guildhall Library, 1889, p. 681.]
G. G.