Léon Battu was a French dramatist, born 1829 in Paris, where he died on 22 November 1857.
The son of Pantaléon Battu (1799–1870), a violinist and assistant conductor at the Opéra de Paris, and brother of the soprano Marie Battu (1838-1888) who created Inès in L'Africaine, he wrote many vaudevilles and libretti. In the fields of opéra-comique and opérettes, these were in collaboration with Ludovic Halévy, Michel Carré, Jules Barbier, Jules Moinaux and Lockroy. His composers were Jacques Offenbach (Pépito, Le mariage aux lanternes), Adolphe Adam (Les Pantins de Violette), Victor Massé (La Reine Topaze), Georges Bizet and Charles Lecocq (Le Docteur Miracle). With Halévy he translated Mozart's Der Schauspieldirektor for its Mozart centenary production at the Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens in 1856.
He died at the age of 29 after years of illness and his funeral service on 24 November 1857 was attended by more than 500 people, including much of literary and musical Paris.
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