William Kneeland Townsend (June 12, 1849 – June 2, 1907) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and of the United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.
William Kneeland Townsend
Born 1849 in New Haven, CT
Died 1907 in New Haven, CT
FJC ID: 2402
Career output and lasting influence
Opinions attributed per year · peak 3/year
Later decisions citing those opinions, per year · peak 4/year
Connecticut District Court · 1892–1902Connecticut District Court · 1892–1902U.S. Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit · 1902–1907Second Circuit Court of Appeals · 1902–1907
Both charts share the same year axis. Opinion counts include only opinions in our corpus attributed to this judge so far — a year at zero can mean an attribution gap, not judicial silence. Influence typically outlasts the career: citations keep climbing after the last opinion.
- Gender
- Male
- Race
- White
Prior employment
- Private practice, New Haven, Connecticut1875–present
- Yale Law SchoolProfessor · 1881–1907
- New Haven, ConnecticutCorporation counsel · 1889–1891
- New Haven, ConnecticutAlderman · 1880–1882
- New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, -Attorney · 1881
Appointments
1902–1907 · Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)Term ended: Death- 1902–1907 · Appointed by Theodore Roosevelt (Republican)Term ended: Death
1892–1902 · Appointed by Benjamin Harrison (Republican)Term ended: Appointment to Another Judicial Position
Education
D.C.L. · 1880- LL.B. · 1874
- Yale CollegeA.B. · 1871