Richard Manning Leonard (October 22, 1908 – July 31, 1993) was an American rock climber,

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

and attorney. He served as president of the Sierra Club and the Save the Redwoods League, and was active in the Wilderness Society and the American Alpine Club. Leonard was born in Elyria, Ohio and graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

and also received his Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

. On March 13, 1932, Leonard formed the Cragmont Climbing Club in Berkeley, California with Jules Eichorn, Bestor Robinson and several others. Leonard took a systematic, experimental approach to rock climbing safety and technology, repeatedly testing climber falls and belaying techniques under carefully controlled conditions. Steve Roper called Leonard "the father of California rock climbing". In November, 1932, the Cragmont Climbing Club merged with the Sierra Club's new Rock Climbing Section.

In 1934, Leonard, along with Bestor Robinson and Jules Eichorn completed the first ascent of the Eichorn Pinnacle on Cathedral Peak, near Tuolumne Meadows in

Yosemite National Park Yosemite National Park ( ) is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in California. It is bordered on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The p ...

. In 1934, Leonard, Eichorn and Robinson assembled the most advanced set of climbing gear then in use in North America, much of which they had obtained from Germany, and successfully climbed Higher Cathedral Spire in

Yosemite Valley Yosemite Valley ( ; ''Yosemite'', Miwok for "killer") is a U-shaped valley, glacial valley in Yosemite National Park in the western Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada mountains of Central California, United States. The valley is about long a ...

. This was the first major technical ascent in the famous scenic valley that became a mecca of rock climbing. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Leonard served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and was assigned to the Office of the Quartermaster general along with Bestor Robinson, where they worked on the development of improved equipment and clothing for the army's mountain divisions. They joined a skilled wartime team led by Robert Bates that included mountaineers William P. House, H. Adams Carter, Terris Moore, Bradford Washburn and Australian arctic explorer Hubert Wilkins. During the second half of the War, Leonard fought the Japanese in Burma. He was awarded the Bronze Star. On April 20, 1948, Leonard became a founding director and general counsel for

Varian Associates Varian Associates was one of the first high-tech companies in Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1948 by Russell H. and Sigurd F. Varian, William Webster Hansen, and Edward Ginzton to sell the klystron, the first vacuum tube which could amp ...

, a pioneering scientific instrument company in what later became known as

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

. Leonard served on the board of directors of the Sierra Club from 1938 to 1972. He served as president of the Sierra Club from 1953 to 1955.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonard, Richard Manning 1908 births 1993 deaths Sierra Club directors American mountain climbers American environmentalists People from Elyria, Ohio UC Berkeley School of Law alumni California lawyers Activists from Ohio Activists from California Sierra Club awardees 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War II