Taken from 1919 Aegis.

Thornton Holman “Woodie” Wood was born on July 28, 1897 in Boston, MA to the parents of Allen and Fannie Langley Wood. He was raised in New York City, but attended M Street High School in Washington D.C… M Street High School was the first High School for African-Americans in the U.S., and one that sent many students to Ivy League institutions. He was accepted into Dartmouth to begin classes in the fall of 1915.

Thornton taking off from Ski Jump 1919 Aegis (Rauner Library)

At Dartmouth, Wood lived in a single at Wheeler Hall. During his senior year he competed in the 1919 Winter Carnival ski jump competition. He placed third in the competition, but two weeks later (in better jumping conditions) he broke the the school record. He went on to graduate from Dartmouth that same year with a degree in medicine.

Military Headshot                             Alumni File (Rauner Library)

After graduating from Dartmouth, Thornton attended NYU medical school for two years before becoming a physician, one of twenty from is Dartmouth class. He worked in Harlem, NY until 1942 when he began his service in the Army for WWII. From 1943-1945 he served as Regiment Surgeon in General Services. He retired from the Army after achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Medical Corps. Afterwards, Wood continued to work as a physician in Harlem, totaling close to 55 years and finally retiring in 1974 at the age of 77.