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

[2] 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.

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.

On April 20, 1948, Leonard became a founding director and general counsel for Varian Associates, a pioneering scientific instrument company in what later became known as Silicon Valley.