James Robert Townsend (born September 21, 1858) was an American patent attorney.
After graduating high school, he taught in the public schools of Indiana before going on to read law under his uncle John Selby Townsend and the older Townsend's partner, Theodore Bolivar Perry.
[1] Townsend began practicing law in Brazil, Indiana with the firm of Coffee & Carter.
[1][3] Townsend maintained his interest in early childhood education and, with his wife, attended Montessori Training under the supervision of Maria Montessori, becoming the first American man to study directly under the Italian education reformer.
[3] His son, also James Townsend, was one of the original 1,000 participants in the Terman Study of the Gifted.