Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 08.djvu/83

 NICHOLS

NICHOLS

the court of errors and appeals, and his mother was a sister of Joseph Rodman Drake (q.v.). Francis was graduated from the U.S. Military academy and assign- ed to the 2d U.S. artillery, July 1, 1855, and served in Florida and at Fort Yuma, Cal., 1855-56. He was promoted 2d lieuten- ant in the 3d artillery, Oct. 19, 1855 ; re- signed his commis- ''-' sion, Oct. 1, 1856, and

', , removed to Louisiana,

, / where he was mar-


 * ried in April, 1860, to

(f) ' ' ^, /; Caroline Z. Guion

hdAxt^ ^i/he^^'^^ of Lafourche parish. He practised law at Napoleonville, 1856-61. He was commissioned captain in the 8th Louisiana volunteer regiment early in 1861, becoming lieutenant-colonel on the organization of the regiment in the C.S.A ; was promoted colonel of the 15th Louisiana regi- ment in 1862, and shortly after brigadier-general in command of the 2d Louisiana brigade. He led his brigade in the battle of Winchester, Va., where he lost liis left arm, and at Chancellorsville, where he lost his left foot. He was superintendent of the conscript bureau, trans-Mississippi department, 1864-65, and after the close of the war returned to Louisiana and practised law, 1865-76. He was Democratic governor of Louisiana, 1877-80 and 1888-92, and after the expiration of his first term as governor, practised law in New Orleans. He was a member and president of the board of visitors to the U.S. Military academy in 1886, and after the expiration of his second term as governor, he was appointed chief justice of the supreme court of Louisiana for a term of twelve years, 1892-1904.

NICHOLS, Edward Leamington, physicist, was born in Leamington, England, Sept. 14, 1854; son of Edward Willard and Maria (VVatkinson) Nichols ; grandson of Rev. Noah and Mary H. (Low) Nichols of Rumney, N.H., and of Edward and Lavinia (Hudson) Watkinson of Hartford, Conn., and a descendant of David Nichols of Cohas- set, Mass, and of the Watkinsons of Black Notely Hall, England. His parents, who were Amer- icans, were at the time of his birth visiting Eng- land. He attended the Peekskill Military acad- emy and was graduated from Cornell university, B.S., 1875. He studied at the universities of Leipzig, Berlin and Gottingen (Ph.D. 1879) and was appointed a fellow in physics at the Jolins Hopkins university in 1S79. He was connected with Thomas A. Edison at Menlo Park, N.J.,

1880-81, where he was employed principally upon problems in testing incandescent liglit. He was married in 1881 to Ida Preston of South Dover, N. Y. He was professor of physics and chemistry in Central university, Richmond, Ky., 1881-83 ; professor of physics and astronomy at tlie Uni- versity of Kansas, 1883-87, and in 1887 became professor of physics at Cornell university. He was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Amer- ican Academy of Arts and Sciences ; member of the Kansas Academy of Science and its presi- dent, 1885-86, member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers ; the American Physical society ; the Franklin Institute, and the National Academy of Sciences. He became editor of the Physical Review and is the author of: The Gal- vanometer (1894) ; Laboratory Manual of Physics and Applied Electricity (1894); The Elements of Physics (3 vols., 1895) ; Outline of Physics (1897), and numerous articles on experimental physics.

NICHOLS, Edward Tatnall, naval officer, was born in Augusta, Ga., March 1, 1823. He was appointed midshiijman, U.S.N., in December, 1836 ; was promoted passed midshipman in 1842, and lieutenant in March, 1850. He served in the Mediterranean squadron, 1853-56 ; in the Home squadron, 1858-60 ; commanded the U. S. steamer Winona of the Western Gulf blockading squad- ron, participating in the bombardment of Forts Jackson and St. Philip, and receiving the surren- der of Fort St. Philip, April 28, 1862. He also directed the Winona in botli passages of the Vicksburg batteries and in the engagement with the Confederate ram Arkansas. He was pro- moted commander in July, 1862, commanded the U.S.S. Alabama of the West India squadron in 1863, and the Mendota of the South Atlantic squadron, 1864-65. He successfully engaged a Confederate batterj'^ at Four Mile creek, James river, Va., June 16, 1864 ; was detailed on special duty in New York, 1866-68, and was chief-of- staff of the Asiatic squadron in 1870. He was promoted captain in 1866 ; commodore in 1872 ; rear-admiral in 1878, and was retired in March, 1885. He made his home at Pomfret, Conn., where he died, Oct. 12. 1886.

NICHOLS, Ernest Reuben, educator, was born in Farmington, Conn., Sept. 11, 1858 ; son of An- drew Frisbie and Jane Elizabeth (Crampton) Nichols, and grandson of Reuben and Jeruslia (Frisbie) Nichols, and of Rufus and Naomi (Chid- zie) Crampton. He attended the public schools of Clayton county, Iowa, and was graduated from the Iowa state normal school, B.D., 1882; from the State University of Iowa, B.S., 1887, A.M., 1890, and was a graduate student at the Univer- sity of Chicago, 1894-95. He taught school for two years; was principal of the high school at