Career
Born in Old Ross, County Wexford, Ireland, Leigh emigrated to South America at the height of the Irish potato famine, arriving in Chile in 1853 before settling in Paita, Peru, in 1855. His Piura-based firm, H. H. Leigh, established the region"s first cotton press, and by the early 20th century was Peru"s leading exporter of cotton and cattle. Leigh served as the founding president of the Piura Chamber of Commerce until 1905.
According to one scholar, he was emblematic of the waves of immigrants who controlled and developed key economic sectors in 19th-century Peru.
