Courtney Catherine 1847-1929

Leonard Henry Courtney, 1832 - 1918, was born in Penzance and educated at St John's College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar in 1858 and became a Bencher in 1889. He left law to became Professor of Political Economy at University College, London in 1872, a post that he held until 1875. He also entered politics, becoming the Liberal Party MP for Liskeard from 1875 to 1885, and then MP for the Bodmin Division of Cornwall until 1900. He was made Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department 1880 - 1881, and for the Colonial Office 1881 - 1882. In 1884 he resigned the office of Financial Secretary to the Treasury. His last post was as Chairman of Committees and Deputy Speaker, which he held 1886 - 1892. Leonard Courtney was also a contributor to The Times and The Nineteenth Century . He married Catherine (nee Potter, sister of Beatrice Webb) in 1883.