John Townsend

John Townsend (2 April 1819 – 22 December 1892) was a British actor and Liberal Party politician.

Born in Deptford, in the south eastern suburbs of London, Townsend was the son of an auctioneer and estate agent in the neighbouring town of Greenwich. Soon after the election it was alleged that Townsend was ineligible for election as he did not have an annual income of £300. He was suspended from the House of Commons, and came to an arrangement to pay off his debts within 12 months.

He returned to the stage in an attempt to pay off his creditors, playing leading roles in a number of London theatres where was billed as "John Townsend, MP". After a prolonged attempt to retain his seat, he resigned by becoming Steward of the Manor of Northstead in February 1859.

Townsend became the manager of the Theatre Royal, Leicester, and by 1862 had discharged his debts. He emigrated to Canada in May 1862, purchasing a farm outside Kingston, Ontario. He returned to acting in 1864, and in 1868 the family moved to Hamilton. They formed the "Townsend Family Star Dramatic Troupe" and toured Canada and the United States.

In 1877 Townsend became seriously ill in Indiana and had to leave the travelling company. He became a teacher of acting and elocution in Hamilton, where Julia Arthur was his most famous student. Townsend died in 1892 of liver cancer.