Richard Birkin (6 July 1805 – 10 October 1870) was a British lace manufacturer.

Richard Birkin was born in Belper, Derbyshire, on 6 July 1805, the eldest son of Richard Birkin, a calico handloom weaver, and started working in Strutt's Mill aged 7.

[1][2] In 1824, Birkin formed a partnership with Thomas Biddle in Hyson Green, having worked for him for two years.

[1] In 1850, his sons Richard and Thomas joined the partnership.

[3] In 1855, he had built the four-storey Birkin Building, a grade II listed warehouse in Nottingham's Broadway, by Garland & Holland, with Thomas Chambers Hine as the architect.