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Wood , Charles , 1800-1885 , 1st Viscount Halifax , politician
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Charles Wood was born in Pontefract, Yorkshire in 1800. He was educated at Eton and at Oriel College, Oxford. He entered Parliament as Liberal MP for Great Grimsby in 1826, subsequently serving as MP for Wareham, Dorset (1831-1832), Halifax (1832-1865) and Ripon (1865-1866). He also held several cabinet posts, being successively Chancellor of the Exchequer (1846-1852), President of the Board of Control (1852-1855), First Lord of the Admiralty (1855-1858) and Secretary of State for India (1859-1866). He was created a baronet in 1846 and entered the House of Lords as Viscount Halifax in 1866. In general his policies were progressive but not radical. His wife, Mary (1807-1884), was the daughter of the 2nd Earl Grey.