Edward H. Townsend Jr., M.D., was Chief of Pediatrics at Rochester General Hospital from 1955 until his untimely death in 1965. He developed the Regional Premature Infant Center at Rochester General.
A graduate of Harvard, he received his M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1947. In 1952 he became the Director of the Premature Infant Center at Rochester General.
Dr. Townsend was the consulting pediatrician for the Rochester Maternal and Adoption Center, and a consultant at Genesee, Highland, Lakeside Memorial and Thompson Memorial Hospitals. He served as a consultant for the New York State Department of Social Welfare, Infant and Maternal Welfare section. He was president of the Rochester Pediatrics Society, and a district chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics.