Leonard Henry Courtney, 1st Baron Courtney, was born on July 6, 1832, in Penzance, England.

He was a British Liberal politician and educator. He was called to the Bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1858. From 1872 to 1875, he was a Professor of Political Economy at University College, London. In 1876, Courtney was elected to Parliament for Liskeard as a Liberal and represented the borough until 1900. In 1880, he was appointed Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, in 1881, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies and, in 1882, Financial Secretary to the Treasury. In 1886, he was elected Chairman of Committees in the House of Commons and was made a Privy Counsellor in 1889. Cortney was a constant critic of British imperial expansion in Africa, and, in 1900, he lost his seat in the House of Commons because he condemned the South African (Boer) War of 1899–1902. In 1906, Courtney was elevated to the peerage as Baron Courtney of Penwith, County of Cornwall. He served as President of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall from 1881 to 1882 and the Royal Statistical Society from 1897 to 1899. Lord Courtney was a prominent supporter of the women's movement and a regular contributor of numerous essays on political and economic subjects to The Times. During World War I, he advocated a negotiated peace and fearlessly defended conscientious objectors.

In 1883, he married Catharine Potter (1847–1929). He died on May 11, 1918, in London, England.