David William Mitchell

David William Mitchell (4 August 1813 – 1 November 1859) was an English zoologist and illustrator.

Mitchell was the first paid secretary of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), taking up the post between 10 February 1847 and 6 April 1859, instigating the construction of the first public marine aquarium in the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens, which opened on 22 May 1853.

[1] He is credited with rescuing the London zoo financially by publishing attractive images of a few "star" animals, thus greatly increasing the number of visitors in the late 1840s.

[5] Mitchell was a collector and dealer in skins and eggs, and for a time lived in Penzance, Cornwall.

[6] Resigning his post as secretary of the ZSL on 6 April 1859, he became Aquarium Director of the Jardin d'Acclimatation in Paris, but died on 1 November 1859 (shot himself[7]), only months after taking up the position, and was succeeded there by William Alford Lloyd.

Portrait of David William Mitchell, half-length sitting in chair, head turned and looking to right, stick in his right hand. 1850
Illustration of Sitta azurea nigriventer by Mitchell in The Genera of Birds , 1844–1849