Mitchell, John

Mitchell, John

(1870–1919) labor leader; born in Braidwood, Ill. Having worked in coal mines from the age of 12, he joined the Knights of Labor in 1885. He was a founding member of the United Mine Workers (1890), helped in its first successful national strike (1897), and served as its president (1899–1908), a period in which the union expanded its membership tenfold. He was chairman of the New York State Industrial Commission (1915–19).

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Mitchell, John (Galvin)

(1931–  ) writer; born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He graduated from Yale (B.A. 1954) and became a journalist for a variety of newspapers, including the New York Journal-American (1958–65). A science editor and swing writer for Newsweek (1965–68), he was a member of the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (1966–68). His essays, articles, and historical sketches have appeared in numerous periodicals, notably in Audubon, where he was a free-lance editor (1976–91). A writer specializing in natural resource interpretation and historical geography, he is noted for such books as The Hunt (1980), and The Man Who Would Dam the Amazon and Other Accounts From Afield (1990). He lived in Redding, Conn.

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Mitchell, John (Newton)

(1913–88) lawyer, cabinet member; born in Detroit, Mich. A wealthy New York investment lawyer (1936–68), he specialized in municipal bonds. Richard Nixon's 1968 campaign manager and attorney general (1969–73), he used illegal surveillance methods against student radicals and black activists. Convicted of obstruction of justice in the Watergate investigation, he served two years in prison (1977–79).

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.