George Francis Atkinson (January 26, 1854 – November 14, 1918) was an American botanist and mycologist.

[1]: 6–8 He was born on January 26, 1854, in Raisinville, Michigan, and died on November 14, 1918.

He was the son of Joseph and Josephine Atkinson (née Fish).

He studied at Olivet College from 1878 to 1883 and obtained his bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1885.

From 1889 to 1892 he taught biology at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama; from 1892 to 1893 he was an assistant professor of cryptogamic botany at Cornell University, then associate professor (1893–1896), and from 1896, Chairman of the Botany Department.