Thomas Fanning Wood was born on February 23, 1841, in Wilmington, North Carolina.

He was a physician, medical journalist, and public health administrator. After completing his secondary education in the Wilmington public schools, he worked in a local drugstore and studied medicine under several physicians. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he volunteered for military duty in 1861. While serving as a hospital steward in Richmond, Virginia, he attended lectures at the Medical College of Virginia. After he passed a medical examination, the Army Medical Board appointed him an assistant surgeon with the rank of captain. Dr. Wood served with the 3rd North Carolina Regiment, Jackson's Corps, participating in several important battles, e.g., Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. When the war ended in 1865, he established a successful medical practice in Wilmington. In 1877, the State Medical Society elected Dr. Wood Secretary-Treasurer of the Board of Health, a position he held until his death. In 1878, he founded the North Carolina Medical Journal and became its editor. In 1886, he started to compile and edit the Board of Health's Bulletin, a monthly newsletter. Dr. Wood served as secretary (1867–1871) and president (1881–1882) of the North Carolina Medical Society. In 1868, he was awarded an honorary M.D. degree by the University of Maryland and, in 1890, an honorary LL.D. degree by the University of North Carolina. In his free time, he studied botany and was recognized as one of the state's leading botanists.

In 1875, he married Mary Kennedy Sprunt (1848–1932). He died on August 22, 1892, in Wilmington, North Carolina.