George Leeman (August 1809 – 25 February 1882) was a lawyer, railwayman and a Liberal MP for the City of York
Leeman was born to in York, the son of George Leeman, a greengrocer.[2][4] He lived at The Mount, York, and married twice, first to Jane Johnson in 1835, and second to Eliza, the widow of Rev. Charles Payton, in 1863
In 1849 he became chairman of the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway, succeeding his rival George Hudson after Leeman's investigations helped uncover Hudson's illegal share dealing. Leeman was deputy chairman of the successor company, North Eastern Railways, from 1855 to 1874 and chairman from 1874 to 1880, having encouraged its formation through mergers in 1854, and he was a chairman of the Railway Association of Great Britain.
Leeman resigned as chairman of the NER in 1880 after the failure of his mining company reduced his wealth and harmed his health. He remained a member of the board until his death two years later.
He was involved the 1860s in developing iron ore mining at Rosedale for Teesside steel works, co-owning the Rosedale and Ferryhill Iron Company from 1860 to 1877. He was a director of the York Herald and chairman of the Yorkshire Banking Company from 1867 to 1880.