Stephen Chapman Townesend[a] FRCS (1860 – May 1914) was an English surgeon, stage actor, writer and anti-vivisectionist.
Stephen Townesend | |
|---|---|
 Townesend in 1899 | |
| Born | 1860 London, England |
| Died | May 1914 Colney Heath, England |
| Occupation(s) | Surgeon, actor, activist, writer |
| Spouse | |
Biography
editStephen Chapman Townesend was the son of a rector in London. He was educated at St Bartholomew's Hospital and the University of Edinburgh.[1] He qualified M.R.C.S. in 1883 and F.R.C.S. in 1887. He was surgeon on the Orient Steamship Company's line, house surgeon at St Mark's Hospital and at Birmingham General Hospital.[1] Townesend was a stage actor under the name Will Dennis and assisted the Amateur Dramatic Society of St Bartholomew's Hospital.[1][2]
In 1900, he married Frances Hodgson Burnett in Genoa.[3] He was involved with the stage adaptations of her novels. They divorced two years later.[4] Townesend was an anti-vivisectionist, who was described as loving animals more than people.[5]
Townesend died in Colney Heath from pneumonia in May 1914.[1][6]
Selected publications
editNotes
edit- ^ His second name has also been cited as Townsend
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Townesend, Stephen Chapman (1860 - 1914)". Royal College of Surgeons of England. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ "Who Was Who. v.1 (1897/1916)". p. 712
- ^ "Stephen Townsend Weds Mrs. Burnett". San Francisco Call, Volume 87, Number 105, 15 March 1900.
- ^ Gerzina, Gretchen (2004), Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Unexpected Life of the Author of The Secret Garden. Rutgers University Press. p. 229. ISBN 0-8135-3382-1
- ^ "Up The Garden Path". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
- ^ "Stephen Townesend Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 August 2021.