Leonard Wood (9 October 1860-7 August 1927) was a Major-General of the US Army who served as Governor of Cuba from 1899 to 1902 and of the Philippines from 1921 to 1927. Wood was a Republican Party politician as well, and he attempted to secure their nomination for president in 1920.
Biography[]
Leonard Wood was born on 9 October 1860 in Winchester, New Hampshire, and he joined the US Army as a surgeon in 1886. That year, he took part in the last campaign against the Apache war chief Geronimo in New Mexico, and he became famous for coaching Georgia Tech's football team during its successful 1893 season. Wood later served as personal physician to Presidents Grover Cleveland and William McKinley, and Wood befriended Theodore Roosevelt, who would co-found the Rough Riders alongside Wood during the Spanish-American War. Brigadier-General Wood led the Rough Riders to victory at San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill, and he served as Governor-General of Cuba from 1899 to 1902, instituting progressive reforms on the island before it gained independence in 1902. Wood proceeded to crush uprisings by the Moros in the Philippines, and he served as Army Chief of Staff from 1910 to 1914. In 1917, Wood was a candidate for commander of the American Expeditionary Force, but the nonpartisan John J. Pershing was chosen as the general instead. In 1920, Wood decided to seek the Republican Party's nomination for President of the United States, winning the New Hampshire primary but losing the nomination to Warren G. Harding. Wood died during surgery in 1927 at the age of 66.