Born Granville George Greenwood, in
Kensington, London, he was the second son of
John Greenwood, Q. C. and Fanny Welch. Educated at
Eton he was in the "select" for the Newcastle scholarship and then matriculated to
Trinity College, Cambridge. As a foundation scholar, he took his degree with a first-class in the classical
tripos in 1873. Having been called to the Bar by the
Middle Temple in 1876, he joined the Western Circuit. He married in 1878 Laura, daughter of Dr. Cumberbatch and had one son and three daughters. He contested
Peterborough in 1886 and
Central Hull in 1900. In 1906 he won Peterborough for the
Liberal Party and held it till December 1915, when forced by
rheumatism to retire. He was knighted in 1916. While he was in Parliament his consistent vigilance and practical knowledge were of great service. He was an outspoken advocate for the independence of
India at a time when the Indian cause lacked effective voices within England. Greenwood was also a cricketer and made a single first-class appearance, for
Hampshire against
Kent, in one of Hampshire's heaviest first-class defeats. Greenwood scored a single run in each innings of the match. His father John Greenwood and brother, Charles Greenwood, had equally brief first-class careers. Greenwood died from heart failure at his residence in Linden Gardens, London. He was president of the Society for the Prevention of Premature Burial and left instructions that when he died his heart should be cut out. ==Animal welfare==