Nicholas Harris Nicolas

Sir (Nicholas) Harris Nicolas GCMG KH (10 March 1799 – 3 August 1848) was an English antiquary.

Life

The fourth son of Commander John Harris Nicolas RN (1758–1844) and Margaret (née Blake), he was born at Dartmouth. He was the brother of Rear Admiral John Toup Nicolas RN CB KH; 1st Lt Paul Harris Nicolas RM; and Lt Keigwin Nicholas RN.[1]

Having served in the navy from 1812 to 1816, he studied law and was called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1825. His work as a barrister was confined principally to peerage cases before the House of Lords, and he devoted the rest of his time to the study of genealogy and history.

In 1831, he was made a knight of the Royal Guelphic Order, and, in 1832, chancellor and Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG), being advanced to Grand Cross of the order in 1840. He became a member of the council of the Society of Antiquaries in 1826, but soon began to criticise the management of the Society's affairs, and withdrew in 1828. He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1838.[2]

He criticised the Record Commission, which he regarded as too expensive. These attacks, which brought him into controversy with Francis Palgrave, led in 1836 to the appointment of a select committee to inquire into the public records. Nicolas was also responsible for several reforms at the British Museum.

In 1822, he married Sarah (d. 1867), daughter of John Davison of Loughton, Essex, a reputed descendant of the Tudor statesman William Davison. They had two sons and six daughters. Financial difficulties compelled Nicolas to leave England, and he died near Boulogne.

Works

The most important of Nicolas' works is his History of the Orders of Knighthood of the British Empire; of the Order of the Guelphs; and of Medals, Clasps, &c., for Naval and Military Services (London, 1841–1842), which was the first attempt to write a general history of the British honours.[3] Among his numerous other writings are:

He edited Proceedings and Ordinances of the Privy Council of England, 1386–1542 (London, 1834–1837), and (with the help of Nelson's daughter Horatia) Dispatches and Letters of Lord Nelson (London, 1844–1846); wrote lives of Geoffrey Chaucer,[4] Robert Burns, William Cowper, William Collins, Henry Kirke White and others for Pickering's Aldine Press edition of the poets;[5] lives of Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton for an edition of The Compleat Angler illustrated by James Inskipp;[6] and several elaborate works on genealogical and kindred subjects printed for private circulation only.

References
  1. O'Byrne, William Richard (1849). "Nicolas, John Toup" . A Naval Biographical Dictionary . John Murray – via Wikisource.
  2. American Antiquarian Society Members Directory, americanantiquarian.org. Accessed 26 January 2023.
  3. Matikkala, Antti (2008). The Orders of Knighthood and the Formation of the British Honours System, 1660–1760. Boydell & Brewer Ltd. p. 19. ISBN 9781843834236. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  4. Nicolas, Nicholas Harris, Sir (1843). Life of Geoffrey Chaucer. London: William Pickering.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nicolas, Sir Nicholas Harris". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  6. L. H. Cust, 'Inskipp, James (1790–1868)', rev. Chloe Johnson, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 8 Sept 2013
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