John Townsend may refer to:
John Townsend (author) (born 1956), American psychologist and author
John Townsend (basketball) (1916–2001), American basketball player
John Townsend (British politician) (1819–1892), British politician and member of Parliament for Greenwich
John Townsend (MP for Warwick), English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1597 to 1614
John Townsend (footballer) (born 1943), Australian rules footballer
John Townsend (Irish politician) (1737–1810), Irish MP for Dingle, Doneraile and Castlemartyr
John Townsend (Mayor) (1783–1854), 37th mayor of Albany, NY
John Townsend (New York City) (1789–1863), New York politician
John Townsend (Norwich) (1608–1668), early settler of the American colonies
John Townsend (Wisconsin politician) (born 1938), Wisconsin politician
John Townsend (1732–1809), Cabinet maker of the Goddard and Townsend style
John G. Townsend, Jr. (1871–1964), American businessman and politician, governor and senator from Delaware
John Kirk Townsend (1809–1851), American naturalist
John P. Townsend (1832–1898), American financier
John Rowe Townsend (1922–2014), British children's author
John Sealy Townsend (1868–1957), Irish physicist
John Selby Townsend (1824–1892), American Democrat legislator and jurist from Iowa
John Townsend (musician)