William Ashmead Courtenay was the forty-sixth mayor of Charleston, South Carolina, serving two terms from 1879 to 1887.

In 1860, he accepted a position as the business manager for the Charleston Mercury, a leading political newspaper of South Carolina.

After leaving political office, he established the Courtenay Manufacturing Company in Newry, South Carolina.

[4] Courtenay died on March 17, 1908, at his home on Pendleton Street, Columbia, South Carolina.

[5] Courtenay Middle School on upper Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina was named in his honor.