John Thomas Whitehead Mitchell

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John Thomas Whitehead Mitchell
John Thomas Whitehead Mitchell.jpg
Born(1828-10-18)18 October 1828
Rochdale, Lancashire, England
Died16 March 1895(1895-03-16) (aged 66)
Rochdale, Lancashire, England
MovementCo-operative

John Thomas Whitehead Mitchell (18 October 1828 – 16 March 1895) was a British co-operative activist.

Born in Rochdale to a single mother, Mitchell received some education at the Red Cross Street National School, and at a Sunday school. He left at the age of 10 or 11, to work as a piecer in a cotton mill, for 13 hours a day. When he was 17, he joined the Providence Independent Chapel, and the following year, he signed a pledge to abstain from alcohol, with the support of his mother, who ran a beer house. In 1850, he was part of a group of members who left the chapel, to found the New Milton Congregational Church, but he remained active in the Sons of Temperance organisation.[1]

In 1848, a contact at the chapel found Mitchell work as a sorter in his wool warehouse, and he eventually rose to become the warehouse manager. He eventually left in 1867, to become a flannel dealer.[1][2]

In 1853, Mitchell joined the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers, joining its committee in 1856, and becoming secretary in 1857. He was a founder of the Rochdale Co-operative Manufacturing Society in 1854, and later became its chair. In 1869, he attended the first Co-operative Congress, and this inspired him to organise district meetings of the Co-operative Union. In 1874, he was elected as a Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) board member, becoming its chair before the end of the year. In his period as chair, the CWS grew to have a turnover of millions of pounds, and employed thousands of people. Mitchell's position gradually became full-time, although his compensation remained around £150 per year.[1][2]

Mitchell gave evidence to the Royal Commission on Labour in 1892, and served as President of the Co-operative Congress in both 1879 and 1892. He served as liquidator of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Productive Society in 1878, and was able to keep it running with a loan from the , continuing to manage the business until his death, after which the CWS took it over. In 1893, he was awarded the , for facilitating trade with Greece.[1][2]

In both 1893 and 1894, Mitchell stood unsuccessfully as a Liberal Party candidate for Rochdale Town Council. He died the following year.[1][2]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Joyce Bellamy and John Saville, "Mitchell, John Thomas Whitehead", Dictionary of Labour Biography vol.I, pp.241–242
  2. ^ a b c d Yeo, Stephen. "Mitchell, John Thomas Whitehead". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
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