William Richard Townsend
{{Short description|British lawyer (died 1914)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2018}}
William Richard Townsend (died 1914) was a British lawyer who served with the Colonial Service in the Gambia and Sierra Leone in the early 20th century.
Early life and education
Townsend was born the son of Edward and Judith Townsend. He graduated with a bachelor of laws from Trinity College, Dublin.
Legal career
Townsend was appointed as Attorney General of the Gambia on 1 May 1902, the first in the colony's history.{{Cite book|title=Journey for Justice|last=Jallow|first=Hassan B.|publisher=AuthorHouse|year=2012|isbn=|location=Bloomington, Indiana|pages=177}} He was appointed to the Executive and Legislative Councils of the Gambia on 26 September 1902.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/27478/page/6209/data.pdf|title=Downing Street, September 26, 1902|date=30 September 1902|website=The London Gazette}} He was appointed as Chief Magistrate of the Gambia on 18 January 1907, and as a judge in Sierra Leone on 22 October 1908. He was appointed as a circuit judge but also a puisne judge on its Supreme Court.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/Edinburgh/issue/11901/page/83/data.pdf|title=Downing Street, January 18, 1907.|date=22 January 1907|website=The Edinburgh Gazette}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28188/page/7639/data.pdf|title=Downing Street, October 22, 1908|date=23 October 1908|website=The London Gazette}} He was appointed as the Attorney General of the Gold Coast on 16 November 1912.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28664/page/8460/data.pdf|title=Downing Street, 16th November, 1912|date=19 November 1912|website=The London Gazette}}
Personal life
Townsend married Emily Mabel Townshend in 1907. She was the daughter of Richard Horatio Townshend and Frances Maria Maunsell.{{Cite web|url=http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~townsend/tree/record.php?ref=6A24|title=Emily Mabel Townshend (6A24)|website=The Townsend (Townshend) Family Records|date=31 July 2010 |access-date=25 December 2017}} He died in 1914, killed at sea.
References
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Category:Attorneys general of the Gold Coast (British colony)