George Mitchell

George Mitchell (6 February 1827 – 24 January 1901) was a British stonemason, who became prominent in the National Agricultural Labourers' Union.

Mitchell was born in Montacute in Somerset and began working when he was five years old, as a crow scarer. He later became a stonemason, following his father's trade, and proved highly successful. In time he moved to London, and began trading in marble, eventually becoming wealthy.

Despite his wealth and location, Mitchell remained sympathetic to the agricultural labourers he had worked with in his youth. As a result, he was enthusiastic when the National Agricultural Labourers' Union (NALU) was established, and in June 1872 he was a founder of its Somerset District.

Mitchell served as a trustee of the union and donated huge amounts of his own money to it, totaling around £20,000, leading to his bankruptcy.

Mitchell also took part in political activism, and in 1882 was elected to the London School Board, representing Chelsea. Despite his differences with Arch, Mitchell was selected by the union as a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for South Somerset at the 1885 general election, although he did not ultimately stand. By 1888, the union was in decline, and Mitchell was calling for an independent investigation into its finances.

Mitchell spent the remainder of the 1890s trying to rebuild his marble business.