John Kirk Townsend (October 10, 1809 – February 6, 1851) was an American naturalist, ornithologist and collector. Townsend was born in Philadelphia and trained as a physician and pharmacist. He developed an interest in natural history in general and bird collecting in particular. In 1833 he was invited by the botanist Thomas Nuttall to join him on Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth's second expedition across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Townsend collected a number of birds new to science, including the Mountain Plover, Vaux's Swift, Chestnut-collared Longspur, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Townsend's Warbler and Sage Thrasher.
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Oregon
While at Wyeth’s Fort William in Oregon, Townsend served as the appointed magistrate to the first public trial by Europeans in Oregon.[1] This occurred when the post’s gunsmith, Thomas J. Hubbard, attacked and killed the fort’s tailor in an argument over a young native girl.[1] The gunsmith was acquitted by a jury when they ruled the death was justifiable homicide.[1]
Legacy
On his return Townsend wrote The Narrative of a Journey across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River and a Visit to the Sandwich Islands (1839). A number of mammals are named for Townsend, including Townsend's Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus townsendii), Townsend's Chipmunk (Tamias townsendii), Townsend's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys townsendii), Townsend's Mole (Scapanus townsendii), Townsend's Vole (Microtus townsendii), and the Whitetail Jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii).
References
- ^ a b c Narrative of a Journey. New and Recent OSU Press Books. OSU Press. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.
Further reading
- Excursion to the Oregon by John Kirk Townsend
- Mearns, B. & R. John Kirk Townsend: Collector of Audubon’s Western Birds and Mammals (2007).
