Nicholson, Charles (1808 - 1903)

Summary

Charles Nicholson was a medical practitioner, politician and businessman in New South Wales in the 19th-century. He migrated to Sydney in 1833 and established a practice as a respected obstetrician. During the 1840s he was a member of the Medical Board, and in 1844 elected Vice-President of the Medico-Chirurgical Society of Australia. However, having inherited substantial land holdings around the Hawkesbury and Upper Hunter Rivers, from the 1840s his attention turned increasingly to his varied business interests. Nicholson was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1843 to 1856, including a 10-year term as Speaker. For three years before he returned to the United Kingdom, he was a Member of the Legislative Council of Queensland. Nicholson was an early advocate for the establishment of the University of Sydney. He was Provost (later Chancellor) from 1854 to 1862, and a Fellow of the Senate 1850 - 1883. Nicholson's participation in local scientific societies included holding office in the Australian Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Science, Commerce and Agriculture and the Philosophical Society of New South Wales.

Details

Chronology

1833

Life event - Migrated to New South Wales

1833

Education - Graduated doctor of medicine, University of Edinburgh

1833 - 1840

Career position - In medical practice in Sydney

1837

Career event - Founder, Australian Gas Light Company

1843 - 1848

Career position - Member (elected) for Port Phillip, Legislative Council, Parliament of New South Wales

1844

Career position - Vice-President, Medico-Chirurgical Society of Australia

1846 - 1856

Career position - Speaker, Legislative Council, Parliament of New South Wales

1848 - 1856

Career position - Member (elected) for County of Argyle, Legislative Council, Parliament of New South Wales

1850 - 1855

Career position - Vice-President, Australian Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Science, Commerce and Agriculture

1850 - 1862

Career position - Trustee, Australian Museum

1850 - 1883

Career position - Fellow of the Senate, University of Sydney

1851 - 1854

Career position - Vice-Provost, University of Sydney

1852

Award - Created Knight Bachelor

1854 - 1862

Career position - Provost (later Chancellor), University of Sydney

1855 - 1857

Career position - Senior Vice-President, Philosophical Society of New South Wales

1855 - 1858

Life event - Visited Egypt

1859

Award - Created Baronet (Kt)

1860

Career position - President, Legislative Council, Parliament of Queensland

1860 - 1863

Career position - Member, Legislative Council, Parliament of Queensland

1862

Life event - Returned to the United Kingdom

Related entries

Archival resources

University of Sydney, Archives

• Charles Nicholson - Records, 1836 - 1920, P 4; University of Sydney, Archives. Details

Published resources

Book Sections

• Macmillan, David S., 'Nicholson, Sir Charles (1808-1903)' in Australian dictionary of biography, volume 2: 1788 - 1850 I-Z, Douglas Pike, ed. (Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1967), pp. 283-285. http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020251b.htm. Details

Journal Articles

• Dallan, Robert A., 'The Chancellors of the University of Sydney since its foundation', Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, 19 (4) (1933), 209-59. Details

Resources

• Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5081249. Details
• VIAF - Virtual International Authority File, OCLC, https://viaf.org/viaf/41568387. Details
• 'Nicholson, Charles (18081123-19031108)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-622337. Details

Resource Sections

• Mellor, Lise, 'Nicholson, Charles', in University of Sydney School of Medicine Online Museum, Faculty of Medicine Online Museum and Archive, University of Sydney, 2008, https://sydney.edu.au/medicine/museum/mwmuseum/index.php/Nicholson,_Charles. Details