Mitchell-Thomson was born at number 7
Carlton Terrace,
Edinburgh, the son of
Mitchell Mitchell-Thomson,
Lord Provost of Edinburgh, who was created a baronet in 1900. Mitchell-Thomson was educated at
Winchester College and
Balliol College, Oxford. He earned his
LL.B with distinction from the
University of Edinburgh in 1902. Following the War, he was appointed the British representative on the
Supreme Economic Council, followed by appointments as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food and the Board of Trade. In May 1934 the British government appointed a committee, under the guidance of Lord Selsdon, to begin enquiries into the viability of setting up a public television service, with recommendations as to the conditions under which such a service could be offered. The results of the Selsdon Report were issued as a single Government White Paper in January of the following year. The
BBC was to be entrusted with the development of
television. Lord Selsdon was one of those to appear on the first day of BBC television broadcasts, 2 November 1936, now in his new capacity as Chairman of the Television Advisory Committee. ==Personal life==