James Weston Leonard

James Leonard QC
Attorney-General of the Cape Colony
In office Jul 1882 – May 1884
Prime Minister	Thomas Scanlen
Preceded by	Thomas Scanlen
Succeeded by	Thomas Upington
In office Jan 1881 – May 1881
Prime Minister	Gordon Sprigg
Preceded by	Thomas Upington
Succeeded by	Thomas Scanlen
Parliament of Cape Colony
In office 1879–1988
Personal details
Born	James Weston Leonard (1853-04-20)20 April 1853 Somerset East, Cape Colony
Died	3 September 1909(1909-09-03) (aged 56) Brussels, Belgium
Nationality	South African
Profession	Barrister-at-law

James Weston Leonard (20 April 1853 – 3 September 1909) was an influential politician of South Africa and Attorney-General of the Cape Colony.^[1]

Early life and education

Leonard was born in Somerset East and received his schooling at Gill College. He studied law at the University of Cape Town, graduating with an LL.B. in 1876.^[2]

Career

In the same year that he obtained his degree, he became a member of the Cape Bar and practised at the Cape until 1888.^[3]

He served as Member of the Cape Legislative Assembly for Oudtshoorn (1880–88) and served as Attorney General in the governments of Cape Prime Ministers, Gordon Sprigg in 1881 and Thomas Scanlen from 1882 until 1884. In 1883, at the age of thirty, he received the status of QC.

After the discovery of gold he settled in Johannesburg and from 1888 he practised at the Johannesburg Bar and was implicated in the Jameson Raid of 1895–6. In 1899 he moved to London.^[2]

References

1. "The Late James W. Leonard, K.C." South African Law Journal. 27: 1. 1910.
2. Kahn, Ellison (1991). Law, life, and laughter : legal anecdotes and portraits. Cape Town: Juta. p. 136. ISBN 0-7021-2693-4. OCLC 28343463.
3. Who was Who: A Companion to "who's who" containing the biographies of those who died during the period 1897–1916. London: A & C Black Limited. 1920. p. 425.