He was admitted to Trinity College, Cambridge at the age of 17 in 1799, obtaining a BA in 1805 and an MA in 1808.
[1] Courtenay was admitted at Lincoln's Inn in 1803, and moved to the Inner Temple in 1807.
[2] In his spare time, Courtenay speculated on annuities, and did research for his friend William Wordsworth on longevity in the Lake District.
[3] At the 1837 UK general election, Courtenay stood for the Conservative Party in Bridgwater, winning the seat.
[4] Courtenay died in 1841 at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool, having apparently overdosed on morphine.