Richard Mahoney Townsend, medical practitioner, was the son of William Blore Townsend and his wife Mary Anna Prentice Birt. He qualified as Bachelor of Medicine (MB) and Master in Surgery (CM) at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1888. Continuing his studies at the same institution he was awarded the degree Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 1891 with a thesis titled An experience of diphtheria. That same year he came to the Cape Colony, where he was licensed to practice on 21 July 1891. He settled in Steytlerville and by 1897 had been appointed as additional district surgeon of Willowmore and Uitenhage. By 1899 he was district surgeon at Steytlerville.

By 1900 Townsend had moved to Bulawayo and in that year became a member of the Rhodesia Scientific Association. In April 1903 he presented his "Note on a parasitic fly (Bengalia depressa)" before the association. The paper was published in the Proceedings (Vol. 4, pp. 10-14) for that year. Townsend remained in Bulawayo until shortly before his death, but was no longer a member of the Rhodesia Scientific Association by 1918. He was first married in April 1896 to Rosina Maud Jefferey, who died in 1898. In April 1902 he married Kate Winnifred Haddon. He had two sons and three daughters.

List of sources:

Ethos: e-theses online service. Retrieved on 17February 2021 from https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.591852

Malherbe, D.F. du T. Family register of the South African nation (3rd ed.) Stellenbosch: Tegniek, 1966.

Medical and pharmacy register for the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, 1893, 1907.

National Archives Repository (TAB), Source MHG, Vol. 0, Ref. 62053: death notice, Richard Mahoney Townsend.

National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System (NAAIRS). http://national.archives.gov.za/naairs.htm Documents relating to Townsend, Richard Mahoney / Townsend, R.M. / Dr Townsend.

Pietermaritzburg Archives Repository (NAB), Source NMC, Vol. 34, [List of medical practitioners, dentists, and chemists and druggists registered in the Cape of Good Hope on 31 December 1915].

Rhodesia Scientific Association. Proceedings, 1904, Vol. 4, paper by Townsend; 1906, Vol. 6(1), list of members.

Richard Mahoney Townsend. WikiTree. Retrieved on 17 February 2021 from https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Townsend-4410

South African medical directory for 1897. Cape Town: Cape Times, 1897.

Compiled by: C. Plug

Last updated: 2021-02-17 11:49:52