Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner was born in Pest, Hungary, on 14 October 1840 to a Jewish family.

His father, Leopold Saphir, died when Gottlieb was young and his mother then married Johann Moritz Leitner.

Gottlieb and his sister Elisabeth (the mother of British politician Leopold Amery) were thereafter known as Leitner.

At fifteen, he was appointed Interpreter (First Class) to the British Commissariat in the Crimea, with the rank of colonel.

[5] He founded many schools, literary associations, public libraries and academic journals, while also dedicating himself to the study of the cultures of the Indian subcontinent.

[dubious – discuss] He returned to Europe in the late 1870s to pursue studies at Heidelberg University (Germany), and he also undertook work for the Austrian, Prussian, and British governments.

On his return to England in 1881, he sought a suitable site for his proposed institution, and in 1883 came upon the vacant Royal Dramatic College in Woking, a building admirably suited for the purpose.