Captain Jesse Mitchell (1812 – July 18, 1872) was a British army officer who served as Superintendent of the

Government Museum, Madras The Government Museum, Chennai, or the Madras Museum, is a museum of human history and culture located in the Government Museum Complex in the neighbourhood of Egmore in Chennai, India. Started in 1851, it is the second oldest museum in India a ...

, succeeding

Edward Balfour Edward Green Balfour (6 September 1813 – 8 December 1889) was a Scottish surgeon, orientalist and pioneering environmentalist in India. He founded museums at Madras and Bangalore, a zoological garden in Madras and was instrumental in raising ...

, from 15 May 1859 to 7 August 1872. He was one of the pioneers of photomicrography in India. Some of his early photographs include those of

Phthiraptera Louse (: lice) is the common name for any member of the infraorder Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera was previously recognized as an order, until a 2021 genetic study determined that ...

from a goose and the proboscis of a blow-fly. He was a captain and an adjutant in the 1st Native veteran Battalion of the Indian Army. He exhibited his first photographs of old temples in 1857 at a meeting of the Photographic Society of Bengal, which also earned praise in the Madras Journal of Literature and Science. In 1858 he showed some negatives at a meeting of the

Photographic Society of Madras The Photographic Society of Madras is in Chennai city of India. Founded in 1857, it is the oldest photographic society in India and one of the oldest in the world. PSM was founded in 1857, with the objective of promoting the Art and Science of Pho ...

. He wrote on the photographic techniques that he experimented with and suggested modifications to those followed by Captain

Linnaeus Tripe Linnaeus Tripe (14 April 1822 – 2 March 1902) was a British pioneer of photography, best known for his photographs of India and Burma taken in the 1850s. Early life Linnaeus Tripe was born on 14 April 1822, in Plymouth Dock (now Devonport), ...

and Dr. A.C. Brisbane Neill. He also published notes from the museum such as one on the Indian climbing perch and its habit.Aiyappan, A. (1951) Madras Government Museum Centenary Souvenir (1851-1951). p. 14 Mitchell helped establish the Museum Library which later became the Connemara Public Library, acquiring books, often second-hand to stock it. It was opened in June 1862. Mitchell died while in service and is buried at St. George's Cathedral, Madras.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Jesse British Indian Army officers 1812 births 1872 deaths