John Mitchell Mitchell
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John Mitchell Mitchell (1789 – 24 April 1865) was a Scottish antiquarian. The explorer Thomas Mitchell was his brother.


Biography

Mitchell was the second son of John Mitchell of
Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...
, where he was born in 1789. Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell was his brother. He was educated at the Polmont school in Falkirk, and subsequently at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
. For nearly half a century he was engaged in business as a merchant at
Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...
, and for some time acted as consul-general for Belgium. Nevertheless, Mitchell found time for the study of archaeology, natural history, and mineralogy, and was a student of Scandinavian languages and literature. He was fellow (and joint secretary for its foreign correspondence) of the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usu ...
, of the Royal Physical Society, and the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries of Denmark, contributing to the 'Transactions' of each many valuable papers. He lived on terms of friendly intercourse with the king of Denmark and the king of the Belgians, and received from the latter the gold medal of the order of Leopold. Mitchell died at his residence, Mayville, Trinity, near Edinburgh, on 24 April 1865. He was unmarried. Mitchell's chief works were: 1. 'Mesehowe: Illustrations of the Runic Literature of Scandinavia,' Edinburgh, 1863, 4to, including translations in Danish and English of inscriptions found in the mound of Mesehowe in Orkney, opened in 1861. 2. 'The Herring, its Natural History and National Importance,' Edinburgh, 1864, 8vo, an elaborate work, embodying the study and research of many years, and constituting an authority on the subject to which it relates; it is an expansion of a paper which gained the medal offered by the
Royal Scottish Society of Arts The Royal Scottish Society of Arts is a learned society in Scotland, dedicated to the study of science and technology. It was founded as The Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts in Scotland by Sir David Brewster in 1821 and dedicate ...
. He was also author of a pamphlet 'On British Commercial Legislation in reference to the Tariff on Import Duties, and the injustice of interfering with the Navigation Laws,' Edinburgh, 1849, 8vo; 2nd edition, 1852.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, John Mitchell 1789 births 1865 deaths 19th-century Scottish antiquarians People from Falkirk Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland