United States physician and naturalist from Philadelphia, with a particular interest in ornithology. He trained at the University of Philadelphia, graduating in medicine in 1847. Woodhouse took part in his first expedition soon after, joining the United States Survey of the Creek Boundary Line (1849-1850) under the command of Lt. L. Sitgreaves, leadership of the expedition passing to Lt. I.C. Woodruff in 1850. The pioneering bird lists that Woodhouse published from the expedition established him as the father of Oklahoma ornithology. In 1851 he joined a privately funded expedition led by Sitgreaves through Indian Territory, down the Zuñi and Colorado Rivers through New Mexico and Arizona. During this expedition, Woodhouse survived being bitten by a rattlesnake and injured by an arrow from a Mohave attack. He was an enthusiastic member fo the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia where he deposited most of his natural history material, botanical specimens also being sent also to J. Torrey for identification.

The last expedition of Woodhouse was to Honduras (1853) under the leadership of E.G. Squier. Though Squier later published on botanical subjects, it is not known if any botanical collections from this expedition are extant in addition to the ornithological collections that Woodhouse deposited at the Academy of Natural Sciences. Woodhouse returned to Philadelphia where he settled down to practice medicine and start a family. He died in Philadelphia on 23 November 1904. Aster woodhousei Wooton was named after him, based partly on one of the collections Woodhouse made in 1851.