Born in Tipperary. Passed entrance examination for the Indian Civil Service in 1862. Held many important posts including Financial Secretary to the Indian Government. Between 1874-79 published a Gazetteer of the North East Provinces and was also the author of works on Indian law and kindred subjects. He was appointed President of the Board of Trustees of the Indian Museum, and was responsible for starting the publication of Indian Museum Notes, which dealt largely with economic entomology a subject in which he interested himself, and did a good deal of early work. Much of Atkinson's serious entomological research was on the Hemiptera-Heteroptera, but he also interested himself in beetles.
Horn & Kahle (1935-7) notice that a collection of Cicindelidae made by Atkinson passed via 0. Thieme to P. Richter and thence to W. Horn, and that another collection of Elateridae passed to Godman and Salyin via E.W.Janson. This latter collection was subsequently acquired by the NHM which also acquired a part of the remainder of Atkinson's beetle collection, what was left being sold through Standinger and Bang-Haas. It is worth noticing that Chalmers-Hunt (1976) records the sale of Indian insects belonging to Atkinson which may have included beetles by Stevens at auction on 2 December 1895.
Atkinson's published work on Coleoptera appears to have been confined to the first twelve parts of the ‘Catalogue of the Insects of the Oriental Region (Coleoptera)’ published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1889-1891.
He died at Calcutta. Gilbert (1977) lists eight obituary notices. There are many references to his collecting activities in the FBI series (eg. G.J.Arrow, Lucanidae Passalidae, 1950, 50,53,58,72, etc.) Atkinson is said to have been related to Col. Swinhoe, the Coleopterist. (MD 7.01)