Charles Haskins Townsend (September 29, 1859 – January 28, 1944) was an American

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

and naturalist who served as the director of the

New York Aquarium The New York Aquarium is the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States, located on the Riegelmann Boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded at Castle Garden in Battery Park, Manhattan in 1896, and move ...

, from 1902 to 1937.

Early life

The son of the Reverend Daniel W. Townsend and Elizabeth Townsend, née Kier, he was born in Parnassus, Pennsylvania,"Townsend, Charles Haskins" in ''Who Was Who in America: Science and Technology.'' (1976). Marquis Who's Who. p. 610. and educated in public and private schools. He was a graduate of the

Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1812, by many of the leading nat ...

."The South Seas - C.H. Townsend to Speak on That Subject," ''The Evening Republican'', Meadville, PA., p. 2, Friday, May 29, 1903 He subsequently worked at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Career

In 1883, he became assistant

United States Fish Commission The United States Fish Commission, formally known as the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, was an agency of the United States government created in 1871 to investigate, promote, and preserve the fisheries of the United States. In 1 ...

er in charge of

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

propagation in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. For a time, he was in charge of deep-sea explorations on the USS ''Albatross''. From 1897 to 1902, he served as chief of the Fish Commission's fisheries division. He then served as director of the

Castle Garden Castle Clinton (also known as Fort Clinton and Castle Garden) is a circular sandstone fort within Battery Park at the southern end of Manhattan in New York City. Built from 1808 to 1811, it was the first American immigration station, predating ...

, from 1902 until his retirement in 1937.

Memberships and honors

In 1902 Townsend was an expert before the Russo-American fisheries arbitration at

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

. In 1912-13 he was president of the

American Fisheries Society The American Fisheries Society (established 1870 in New York City), is the "world’s oldest and largest organization dedicated to strengthening the fisheries profession, advancing fisheries science, and conserving fisheries resources." It is a mem ...

. He was elected a fellow of the

New York Academy of Sciences The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wi ...

. He is commemorated in the names of

Townsend's shearwater Townsend's shearwater (''Puffinus auricularis'') is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae. Taxonomy Its relationships are unresolved. Its closest relatives are probably, but not certainly, the Hawaiian shearwater (''Puffi ...

and the

Guadalupe fur seal The Guadalupe fur seal (''Arctocephalus townsendi'') is one of eight members of the fur seal genus '' Arctocephalus''. Sealers reduced the population to just a few dozen by the late 19th century, but the species had recovered to 10,000 in number ...

(''Arctophoca townsendi)''. He is also commemorated in the scientific names of three species of reptiles: '' Amphisbaena townsendi'', '' Anolis townsendi'', and ''

Sphaerodactylus townsendi ''Sphaerodactylus townsendi'', known commonly as the Townsend's dwarf sphaero or Townsend's least gecko, is a small species of lizard in the family Sphaerodactylidae. The species is endemic to Puerto Rico. Etymology The specific name, ''townse ...

''.

Writing

He wrote extensively on fisheries,

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

fur seal Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds belonging to the subfamily Arctocephalinae in the family '' Otariidae''. They are much more closely related to sea lions than true seals, and share with them external ears (pinnae), relatively l ...

s, deep-sea exploration and zoology, including ornithology and herpetology. With

Hugh McCormick Smith Hugh McCormick Smith, also H. M. Smith (November 21, 1865 – September 28, 1941) was an American ichthyologist and administrator in the United States Bureau of Fisheries. Biography Smith was born in Washington, D.C. In 1888, he received a Doc ...

he wrote ''The Pacific Salmons'' section of ''Trout and Salmon'' (New York: Macmillan, 1902), a volume of Caspar Whitney's prestigious

American Sportsman's Library The ''American Sportsman's Library'' is a series of 16 uniformly-bound volumes on sporting subjects, from an American perspective, published by the Macmillan Company (see Macmillan Publishers) in the period 1902-1905. Caspar Whitney, the owner/ed ...

Selected publications

* ''Report of the Cruise of the Revenue Marine Steamer 'Corwin' in the Arctic Ocean in 1885'' (1887) * ''Porpoise in Captivity'' (1914) * ''The Public Aquarium: Its Construction, Equipment and Management'' (1928) * ''Guide to the New York Aquarium'' (1937)

References

External links

* * *
Townsend Charts
at the Wildlife Conservation Society

��paper by Townsend, (1925) from ''Zoologica'' v.4(3).
"Where the Nineteenth Century Whaler Made His Catch"
(1931). ''New York Zoological Society'' v.34(6), p. 173-179. {{DEFAULTSORT:Townsend, Charles Haskins American ornithologists American ichthyologists 1859 births 1944 deaths United States Fish Commission personnel Wildlife Conservation Society people