Edward Atkinson was born on 10 February 1827 in Brookline, Massachusetts. Atkinson began employment at the age of sixteen with the dry-goods merchant Read and Chadwick in Liberty Square, Boston.

Atkinson had a mind for business and accounting and within a few years became treasurer for cotton mills operated by J. C. Howe and Company. He learned the cotton trade thoroughly, becoming an expert in all facets of the industry.

After many years dedicated to the cotton industry where he oversaw a large number of mills from Massachusetts to Maine, Atkinson changed his focus and spent the rest of his life in other fields. Among his many fields of endeavor were railroad expansion, statistics, nutrition, civic affairs, free trade, political, economic, and social reform, anti-slavery and the new south, fire insurance and prevention, and agriculture.

Through the 1880s and 1890s, Atkinson sought to improve education and awareness in the field of home economics. This lead him to the invention of his Aladdin cooker (or oven) which allowed food to be cooked in great quantities while using less fuel. Subsequent to the introduction of the Aladdin oven, Atkinson turned his attention to dietetics. This led to the publication in 1896 of his The Science of Nutrition which included contributions by experts in the field of dietetics and cooking.

Atkinson received numerous honorary degrees including an LL.D. from the University of South Carolina, a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College, and an honorary membership in the Harvard University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Atkinson was a member of the New England Cotton Manufacturers' Association, and from 1878-1905, was President of the Boston Manufacturers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company.

Atkinson married Mary Caroline Heath in 1855. They had nine children, two of whom died in infancy.

Edward Atkinson died on 11 December 1905.