WOOD, FERNAND() (1812-81), politician, horn in Philadelphia, Pa., of Qua ker parentage. He removed to New York in 1820, received a good education, and engaged in the shipping business, in Which he was so suc cessful t he retired with a large fortune in 1850. Asa young man he took an active part in politics, and was widely ktiown as a cam paign speaker and writer. In 1810 he was elected to Congress and served one term. After his retirement from active business in 1850 he turned his attention to municipal politics, and within a few years his genius for political man agement and organization was made evident by his complete control of the Tammany Hall ma chine. in that year (1850) he was the candi date of Tammany for Mayor. but was defeated by a combination of Whig and Know Nothing votes. In 1854 he was again the Tammany candidate, and was elected, and was reigeeted in 1851i, but internal strife in the Tammany organi zation forced him out of its membership, and he gathered his persona' followers into a rival known as Mozart Hall. As the
In" candidate of Mozart Hall he was defeated in 1858, hut in 1860 was elected Mayor for a third term over both the 'Tammany and Republican candidates. During his last term in office he attracted wide criticism and ridicule by sug gesting the secession of New York City at the outbreak of the Civil War and its establishment as a 'free city.' Subsequently he gave his sup port to the Administration's war policy. He was elected to l'ongress as a Democrat in 1862, serving continuously until 1877, except for the years 1865-67, which lie spent in Europe. He was one of the shrewdest and most ingenious of New York's political bosses.