LeConte was born in
Liberty County, Georgia, to
Louis Le Conte, patriarch of the noted LeConte family. He attended
Franklin College at the
University of Georgia where he was a member of the
Phi Kappa Literary Society and graduated in 1838. His younger brother
Joseph LeConte also attended the university. Like many of his immediate relatives, LeConte studied medicine at the
New York College of Physicians and Surgeons and earned his
M.D. in 1842. During this time, LeConte married Eleanor Josephine Graham. He practiced medicine until 1846 when he returned to the University of Georgia as a professor of physics and chemistry and taught there until 1855. His next academic position was at the
University of South Carolina as professor of physics and chemistry from 1856 until 1869. In March 1869, he moved to
Oakland, California, to join the faculty of the newly established
University of California as a professor of physics. In June 1869, he was appointed acting president of the university, serving until
Henry Durant became the president in 1870. In September 1869, his brother Joseph arrived in California to join the faculty of the university as a professor of geology. LeConte was elected as a member to the
American Philosophical Society in 1873 and the
National Academy of Sciences in 1878. LeConte was appointed acting president of the university a second time until June 1876, when he was elected president. In 1881 LeConte tendered his resignation as president of the university, asking to be returned to his faculty position. LeConte died at his home in
Berkeley on April 29, 1891, while still active as a professor of physics. == Legacy ==