Herbert William Wood (July 17, 1837 - October 8, 1879) was a British army officer and engineer. Born in India, Wood was educated at Cheltenham College and then entered the East India Company military college at Addiscombe in February 1854. On September 20, 1855, Wood received his commission in the Madras engineers and then duly continued his professional education at Chatham. He arrived in Madras on October 26, 1857. He was posted to the Sagar field division and immediately saw action fighting against the Indian Rebellion of 1857. He received his promotion to lieutenant on August 27, 1859, and remained on the front lines until March 1859. He served as the executive engineer in the public works department in the North-West Provinces for a short time and then in 1860 was transferred back to Madras. On January 15, 1864 he was promoted to captain. From January through June 1868 he fought in the Abyssinian campaign as a field engineer and succeeded Captain Chrystie as the officer in charge of the works at Zulla. He was promoted to major on August 24, 1873. After obtaining three years leave, he became a member of the Grand Duke Constantine's expedition to examine the Amu Darya organized by the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. In 1876, Wood published a book on this expedition entitled The Shores of Lake Aral, which is said to be an essential read for 'all who would thoroughly understand the difficulties with which the Russians have to contend in Central Asia.' In June 1876, he returned to India and served in the Madras presidency. He died at Chingleput on October 8, 1879, after suffering from poor health for some time.