William Kneeland Townsend

William Kneeland Townsend (June 12, 1849 - June 2, 1907) was a federal judge in the United States.

A native of New Haven, Connecticut, Townsend attended both Yale College, where he was a member of Skull and Bones, and Yale Law School. He worked for several years as a lawyer in private practice in New Haven, including as an attorney for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. From 1880 to 1882, Townsend was an alderman of the City of New Haven. From 1881 until his death, Townsend taught as a professor at Yale Law School. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Townsend as judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut. After Townsend served for ten years as a district judge, President Theodore Roosevelt promoted him in 1902 to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, on which Townsend served until his death in 1907.

Sources

• William Kneeland Townsend at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Legal offices
Preceded by Nathaniel Shipman	Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut 1902–1913	Succeeded by James Perry Platt
Legal offices
Preceded by Nathaniel Shipman	Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 1902-1907	Succeeded by William Kneeland Townsend