Charles Haskins Townsend, Sc.D. (1859–1944) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 zoologist

Zoology

Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...

, born at Parnassus, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. From 1897 to 1902 he was connected with the United States Fish Commission

United States Fish Commission

The United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries was established on February 9, 1871 , as an independent commission with a mandate to investigate the causes for the decrease of commercial fish and aquatic animals in U.S...

, serving as chief of the fisheries division. He then served as director of the New York Aquarium

New York Aquarium

The New York Aquarium is the oldest continually operating aquarium in the United States, having opened in Castle Garden in Battery Park, Manhattan in 1896. Since 1957, it has been located on the boardwalk in Coney Island, Brooklyn. The aquarium is managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society as...

 at Castle Garden, from 1902 until his retirement in 1937. He wrote extensively on fisheries

Fishery

Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...

, whaling

Whaling

Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...

, fur seal

Fur seal

Fur seals are any of nine species of pinnipeds in the Otariidae family. One species, the northern fur seal inhabits the North Pacific, while seven species in the Arctocephalus genus are found primarily in the Southern hemisphere...

s, deep-sea exploration and zoology.

Memberships and Honors

In 1902 he was an expert before the Russo-American fisheries arbitration at The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

. In 1912-13 he was president of the American Fisheries Society. He was elected a fellow of the New York Academy of Sciences

New York Academy of Sciences

The New York Academy of Sciences is the third oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, non-profit organization with more than members in 140 countries, the Academy’s mission is to advance understanding of science and technology...

.

He is commemorated in the name of Townsend's Shearwater

Townsend's Shearwater

Townsend's Shearwater, Puffinus auricularis, is a rare seabird of the tropics from the family Procellariidae.Its relationships are unresolved. Its closest relatives are probably, but not certainly, the Hawaiian Shearwater and possibly the Manx Shearwater...

.

Further reading

• National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, (1945) v.32, p. 37.
• Grant, Chapman. (1947). "Dr. Charles Haskins Townsend". Herpetologica 4(1): 38-40.

External links

• Townsend Charts at the Wildlife Conservation Society
• The Galapagos Tortoises -- 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.