John Wood (1812 – 14 November 1871) was a Scottish

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

, surveyor,

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

and explorer, principally remembered for his exploration of

central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

Grave of Captain John Wood in Highgate Cemetery

Biography

Wood was born in

Perth, Scotland Perth (; ) is a centrally located Cities of Scotland, Scottish city, on the banks of the River Tay. It is the administrative centre of Perth and Kinross council area and is the historic county town of Perthshire. It had a population of about ...

. After schooling at Perth Academy, he joined the British Indian Navy, was made a Lieutenant, and soon demonstrated a flair for

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

. Many of the maps of southern Asia which he compiled remained standard for the rest of the 19th century. In 1835, aged twenty-two, he commanded the first

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. The term ''steamboat'' is used to refer to small steam-powered vessels worki ...

to paddle up the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

and surveyed the river as he went. In 1838, he led an expedition that found one of the River Oxus's sources in central Asia. The

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

recognised his work by awarding him their Patron's Medal in 1841. After his central Asian explorations, Wood spent a year in

Wellington, New Zealand Wellington is Capital of New Zealand, the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the List of cities in New Zealand, third-largest city ...

, before moving back to India and establishing himself in Sind, a northern Indian province that is now part of Pakistan. In 1871, he decided to return to Britain, but before leaving made one final trip to Shimla in the

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, where he fell ill. He nonetheless embarked on the voyage home, but died only two weeks after his arrival, on 14 November. His travels were published in 1872.Captain John Wood,
Journey to the Source of the River Oxus
', John Murray, London, 1872 He is buried on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery.

Bibliography

* John Wood ** ''Narrative of a Journey to the Source of the River Oxus'', London: John Murray, 1841 ** ''Twelve Months in Wellington'', London: Pelham Richardson, 1843

References

Richard W. Hughes: ''The Rubies and Spinels of Afghanistan – A brief history''
1812 births 1871 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Scottish explorers Royal Indian Navy officers Scottish surveyors {{Explorer-stub