Leonard Walter Jerome (November 3, 1817 – March 3, 1891)[1] was an American financier in Brooklyn, New York, and the maternal grandfather of Winston Churchill.

[1] He originally enrolled in Princeton University, then known as the College of New Jersey (where two of his brothers studied theology and became Presbyterian ministers), as a member of the Class of 1839, before leaving for Union College, where he studied law with his uncle, known as Judge Jerome, and set up a practice in Rochester, New York.

[2] He was a patron of the arts, and joined in the founding[citation needed] of the Academy of Music, one of New York City's earliest opera houses.

In 1866, Jerome bought the estate and mansion of James Bathgate near Old Fordham Village in what was then rural Westchester County, but is now The Bronx.

Jerome and his brother Lawrence had a wide boulevard made from Macombs Dam to the track, which city authorities attempted to name "Murphy Avenue" after a local politician.

He, Vanderbilt, and other investors founded the Coney Island Jockey Club which in 1884 built the Sheepshead Bay Race Track.

Leonard Jerome's wealth afforded his daughters the opportunity to spend much time in Europe, where they associated with the aristocratic elite of the day.

All three daughters married British or Anglo-Irish husbands:[1] Jerome was also rumored to be the father of the American opera singer Minnie Hauk.

[10] Leonard Jerome died at the age of 73 in Brighton, England, surrounded by his wife and surviving daughters.