Charles Ingram Courtenay Wood, 2nd Earl of Halifax (3 October 1912 – 19 March 1980) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 politician and peer. He was styled Lord Irwin from 1934 until 1959.

Biography

Wood was the son of Edward Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax, statesman and Foreign Secretary. The younger Wood also entered politics, becoming Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 (MP) for the City of York

City of York (UK Parliament constituency)

The City of York was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-Boundaries:...

 in 1937, as a Conservative

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

.

In 1936, he married Ruth, daughter of the Liberal politician Neil James Archibald Primrose

Neil James Archibald Primrose

Captain The Honourable Neil James Archibald Primrose PC, MC , was a British Liberal politician and soldier. The second son of Prime Minister Lord Rosebery, he represented Wisbech in parliament from 1910 to 1917 and served as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1915 and as...

, and the granddaughter of Prime Minister Lord Rosebery.

In 1939, at the outbreak of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Wood rejoined the Royal Horse Guards

Royal Horse Guards

The Royal Horse Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.Founded August 1650 in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell as the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the regiment became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment during the reign of...

 and served for three years in the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

. He continued as a Member of Parliament during this time. At the 1945 general election

United Kingdom general election, 1945

The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...

, he lost his seat to the Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

 candidate, Dr John Corlett

John Corlett

William John Howarth Corlett, QC, LL.B was Her Majesty's Attorney General for the Isle of Man and ex officio Member of the Legislative Council from 1998 to 2011.He was called to English Bar in 1972 and the Manx Bar in 1974...

.

Wood succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of Halifax

Earl of Halifax

Earl of Halifax is a title that has been created four times in British history, once in the Peerage of England, twice in the Peerage of Great Britain and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The name of the peerage refers to Halifax, West Yorkshire....

 in 1960. In 1978, his horse Shirley Heights

Shirley Heights

Shirley Heights was a British-bred and British-trained Thoroughbred race horse, winner of the Epsom Derby in 1978. He is the last Epsom Derby winner to be both the son of a previous winner , and the sire of a subsequent winner . Shirley Heights was also the sire of Darshaan.- References :...

 won the Epsom Derby

Epsom Derby

The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...

.