Donald Nicol (MP)

{{Short description|Former Scottish politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date = April 2020}} {{Use British English|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = | office = Member of Parliament<br>for Argyllshire | birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1843|10|03}} | birth_name = Donald Ninian Nicol | party = Unionist | predecessor = Donald Horne Macfarlane | successor = Sir John Ainsworth | term_start = 13 July 1895 | term_end = 27 July 1903 | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1903|7|27|1843|10|3}} | birth_place = Liverpool, Lancashire | death_place = Marylebone, London | image = Donald-Ninian-Nicol.jpg | caption = Nicol in 1897. }} '''Donald Ninian Nicol''' JP DL (3 October 1843 – 27 July 1903)<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 July 1903 |title=Gossip of the Day |pages=2 |work=Burnley Express |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000283/19030729/005/0002 |access-date=6 September 2022}}</ref> was a British barrister and politician, who served as the Unionist Party MP for Argyllshire 1895 to 1903.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/people/mr-donald-nicol/index.html|title=Mr Donald Nicol (Hansard)|website=api.parliament.uk|access-date=2020-04-04}}</ref>

== Early life and education == Nicol was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, in October 1843 to a Scottish father & English mother. He was educated in Scotland, first at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh and at the University of Glasgow. In 1863 he entered Queen's College, Oxford, achieving a BA in 1867 and an MA in 1872. He was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1870 and worked on the Northern Circuit.<ref>{{Cite news |date=31 July 1903 |title=Death of an MP |pages=6 |work=Diss Express |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001527/19030731/066/0006 |access-date=6 September 2022}}</ref>

== Political career == Nicol stood for election as the Conservative candidate for Argyllshire in the 1895 general election, where he defeated the incumbent Liberal MP Donald Horne Macfarlane.<ref>{{Cite book|title=British Parliamentary Election Results 1885?1918|others=Craig, F. W. S.|date=18 June 1974|isbn=978-1-349-02298-4|location=London|oclc=1004382729}}</ref> Nicol was re-elected at the 1900 general election with a 54% majority.

== Personal life & death == Nicol was married to Anne Millicent Bates (1849-1946), daughter of Sir Edward Bates, in 1874.<ref>{{Cite news |date=30 July 1903 |title=Death of Mr. Nicol, MP |pages=7 |work=Bromyard News |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002110/19030730/108/0007 |access-date=6 September 2022}}</ref> They had 4 children.

Nicol suffered from heart disease in later life, and he died in July 1903 after suffering a severe illness.<ref name=":0" /> He was succeeded as MP in a by-election by Liberal candidate Sir John Ainsworth who Nicol had previously defeated in 1900.

== Electoral history ==

=== 1895 general election === {{Election box begin|title=General election 1895: Argyllshire}} {{Election box candidate with party link|party=Conservative Party (UK)|candidate=Donald Nicol|votes=3,970|percentage=50.9|change=+1.5|}} {{Election box candidate with party link|party=Liberal Party (UK)|candidate=Donald Horne Macfarlane|votes=3,835|percentage=49.1|change=−1.5|}} {{Election box majority||votes=135|percentage=1.8|change=''N/A''}} {{Election box turnout||votes=7,805|percentage=74.5|change=+1.1}} {{Election box registered electors||reg. electors=10,471}} {{Election box gain with party link||winner=Conservative Party (UK)|loser=Liberal Party (UK)|swing=+1.5}} {{Election box end}}

=== 1900 general election === {{Election box begin|title=General election 1900: Argyllshire<ref name="ReferenceB">Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901</ref><ref name="craig1885">{{cite book|editor1-last=Craig|editor1-first=F. W. S.|title=British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885-1918|date=1974|publisher=Macmillan Press|location=London|isbn=9781349022984}}</ref>}} {{Election box candidate with party link|party=Conservative Party (UK)|candidate=Donald Nicol|votes=3,834|percentage=54.2|change=+3.3|}} {{Election box candidate with party link|party=Liberal Party (UK)|candidate=John Ainsworth|votes=3,234|percentage=45.8|change=−3.3|}} {{Election box majority||votes=600|percentage=8.4|change=+6.6}} {{Election box turnout||votes=7,068|percentage=67.9|change=−6.6}} {{Election box registered electors||reg. electors=10,405}} {{Election box hold with party link||winner=Conservative Party (UK)|swing=+3.3}} {{Election box end}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{hansard-contribs|mr-donald-nicol|Donald Nicol}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, Donald}} Category:1843 births Category:1903 deaths Category:People educated at Merchiston Castle School Category:Scottish Tory MPs (pre-1912) Category:Unionist Party (Scotland) MPs Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies Category:UK MPs 1895–1900 Category:UK MPs 1900–1906 Category:19th-century British politicians Category:20th-century British politicians Category:English people of Scottish descent Category:Scottish people of English descent