Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet

For other people named Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet, seeCharles Nicholson, 1st Baronet (disambiguation).

Sir Charles Nicholson 1st Baronet of Luddenham
Sir Charles Nicholson asChancellorof theUniversity of Sydney,c. 1850.
Speaker of the New South Wales Legislative Council
In office 1 June 1843 – 20 June 1848
In office 15 May 1849 – 30 June 1851
In office 14 October 1851 – 29 February 1856
Preceded by	New title
Succeeded by	Sir Alfred Stephen
President of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office 22 May 1860 – 26 August 1860
Preceded by	New title
Succeeded by	Sir Maurice O'Connell
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
In office 1 June 1843 – 20 June 1848
In office 1 July 1848 – 30 June 1851
In office 1 September 1851 – 29 February 1856
Member of the Queensland Legislative Council
In office 1 May 1860 – 23 June 1863
Personal details
Born	Isaac Ascough (1808-11-23)23 November 1808 Cockermouth,Cumberland,England
Died	8 November 1903(1903-11-08)(aged 94) Totteridge Grange,Hertfordshire,England
Nationality	English Australian
Spouse	Sarah Elizabeth Keightley ​ ​ (m.1865)​
Children	Sir Charles Archibald Nicholson, 2nd Baronet(son) Archibald Keightley Nicholson(son) Sir Sydney Hugo Nicholson(son)
Alma mater	Edinburgh University
Occupation	Gynaecologist,Obstetrician,University chancellor,Grazier

Sir Charles Nicholson, 1st Baronet(23 November 1808– 8 November 1903)was an English-Australian politician, university founder, explorer, pastoralist, antiquarian and philanthropist. TheNicholson Museumat theUniversity of Sydneywas named after him.

Early life

Nicholson was born in England, the illegitimate son of Barbara Ascough of Iburndale nearWhitbyin Yorkshire and christened Isaac Ascough. His father is unknown.His name was later changed. He was educated atEdinburgh Universitywhere he took the degree of MD in 1833 after submitting a thesis, written in Latin, on asphyxiation.

Early career in Australia

On 9 October 1833, Nicholson sailed for Sydney as ship's surgeon on theJames Harrisat the behest of his uncle, William Ascough. Ascough had made a considerable fortune as a ship's captain and owner bringing convicts to the Colony, where he had also become an extensive landowner. Nicholson arrived on 1 May 1834 and set up as a doctor in Sydney on Jamieson Street, Wynyard close toThe Rocks.In 1836, William Ascough drowned at sea while sailing from Sydney to his property on theHawkesbury River.Nicholson was the main beneficiary of his uncle's will and soon began acquiring extensive property in his own right throughout Australia.

In 1841, Nicholson blazed a cart route and shifted half a ton of tobacco fromBrouleeto theMonaro,in fourteen days. He was planning to return, carrying sixbales of wool.William Oldrey,William Sandys Elrington,andTerence Aubrey Murrayattempted to raise funds for a private road, fromBellalabato Broulee, following Nicholson's route to the coast, but it was never built.In 1845, Nicholson bought William Sandys Elrington's estate, 'Mount Elrington', near Braidwood.

In 1843, he was one of the first elected members of theNew South Wales Legislative Councilas one of the representatives ofPort Phillip Districtuntil 1848 and then as the representatives of theCounty of Argyleuntil 1856. He was elected speaker in 1846.

ExplorerLudwig Leichhardtnamed a mountain in Queensland after him in 1844.

Sydney University

Nicholson took much interest in the founding of theUniversity of Sydneyand on 24 December 1850 was appointed a member of the senate. On 3 March 1851 he was unanimously elected vice-provost. He was also elected a member of the library committee which laid the foundations of the present excellent library. At the inauguration ceremony held on 11 October 1852, eloquent addresses were given by Nicholson and the first principal, DrJohn Woolley,which were printed as a pamphlet and may also be found in H. E. Barff'sShort Historical Account of the University of Sydney.Nicholson became chancellor in 1854 and held the position until 1862. He was most active in forwarding the interests of the university and in 1860 presented a large and valuable collection of Egyptian, Roman and Etruscan antiquities to it, collected during a trip to Egypt and the Continent in 1856–1857.Nicholson's donation of nearly 1000 artefacts was the genesis of theNicholson Museumat the University of Sydney, which has since been absorbed into the Chau Chak Wing Museum. A catalogue of the collection was published in 1870 by the curator Edward Reeve.

An older Sir Charles Nicholson.

Nicholson obtained donations to pay for the stained glass windows of the great hall between 1856 and 1859, himself subscribing £500.Queenslandbecame a separate colony in 1859 and Nicholson was nominated a member of thelegislative council.At the special request of the governor,Sir George Bowen,Nicholson undertook the office of president of the council for the first session of parliament.

Return to England

In 1862, Nicholson returned to England and in 1865 married Sarah Elizabeth Keightley. He never returned to Australia but kept his interest in it, and occasionally contributed papers relating to it to the journals of learned societies. In 1890, he was appointed to represent the interests of the Central Queensland separation league in London, and in connexion with this headed a deputation to Lord Knutsford.

Nicholson died in England on 8 November 1903 shortly before his ninety-fifth birthday.He was given the honorary degrees of D.C.L. byOxford,and LL.D. by Cambridge and Edinburgh universities. He was knighted in 1852, and created a baronet in 1859. His eldest son,Charles Archibald Nicholson,the second baronet, became well known as an ecclesiastical architect (his achievements include the west front ofSt Anne's Cathedral, Belfast). His other sons wereArchibald Keightley Nicholson,a stained-glass artist andSir Sydney Hugo Nicholson,founder of the Royal School of Church Music.

References

• Macmillan, D. S."Nicholson, Sir Charles (1808–1903)".Australian Dictionary of Biography.Canberra: National Centre of Biography,Australian National University.ISBN978-0-522-84459-7.ISSN1833-7538.OCLC70677943.Retrieved5 January2013.
• Sowada, Karin N.,'Sir Charles Nicholson: an Early Scholar-Traveller in Egypt', in K.N. Sowada and B.G. Ockinga (eds),Egyptian Art in the Nicholson Museum, Sydney(Mediterranean Archaeology, Sydney, 2006), pp. 1–13.
• Atchley, Chewton (1912)."Nicholson, Charles".InLee, Sidney(ed.).Dictionary of National Biography(2nd supplement).London: Smith, Elder & Co.
• Chewton Atchley, rev. C. A. Creffield. "Nicholson, Sir Charles, first baronet (1808–1903)".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/35224.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)