Harry Edwin Wood

Who was Harry Edwin Wood?

Harry Edwin Wood was an English astronomer.

Wood was born in Manchester, England, graduating from Manchester University in 1902 with first class honours in physics, going on to gain an M.Sc in 1905. In 1906 he was appointed the Chief Assistant at the Transvaal Meteorological Observatory, which soon acquired telescopes and which became known as the Union Observatory. He served as the observatory's director from 1928 to 1941, succeeding Robert Innes.

In 1909, he married Mary Ethel Greengrass, also a physics graduate of Manchester University. They had no children.

He served as the president of the Astronomical Society of South Africa from 1929 to 1930.

Wood discovered a number of asteroids himself.

The asteroid 1660 Wood is named for him.