The London-based company Mitchell Beazley was founded in July 1969 by James Alexander Hugh Mitchell (born 20 July 1939 in Epping, England) and John Beazley (born in 1932).
[1] They were financed by the map and atlas publisher George Philip and presented themselves for the first time at the Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany in 1969 with Patrick Moore's Moonflight Atlas.
[2] First titles which were published in 1970 were the Mitchell Beazley Atlas of the Universe by Patrick Moore and Golden Sovereigns by Nicolas Bentley.
In the same year Mitchell's companion John Beazley died from cancer at age 44.
[3] Successful books which were published by Mitchell Beazley were The Joy of Sex by Alex Comfort and the Pocket Wine Book by wine expert Hugh Johnson.