Brown, Nicholas, 1769-1841, American manufacturer and philanthropist, b. Providence, R.I., grad. Rhode Island College (renamed Brown Univ. in 1804 for him), 1786. He extended the internationally known mercantile business of his father, Nicholas Brown. Later his own firm, Brown and Ives, came to control most of the waterpower on the Blackstone River, where his uncle, Moses Brown, and Samuel Slater had pioneered in the cotton textile industry. He was the treasurer (1796-1825) and, for a long period of time, the benefactor of his alma mater. Butler Hospital was founded (1847), in Providence, by his bequest for the care of the mentally ill.

Nicholas, Saint, patron of children and sailors, of Greece, Sicily, and Russia, and of many other places and persons. Little is known of him, but he is traditionally identified as a 4th-century bishop of Myra in Asia Minor. His relics were stolen from Myra in the Middle Ages and taken to Bari, Italy. St. Nicholas is the subject of many legends. He is credited with restoring to life three boys who had been chopped up and pickled in salt by a butcher. Another famous story concerns his giving three bags of gold to the daughters of a poor man and thus saving them from lives of prostitution. Later tradition transformed the bags into three gold balls, which became the symbol of pawnbrokers. In the Netherlands and elsewhere St. Nicholas's feast (Dec. 6) is a children's holiday, appropriate for gifts. The English in colonial New York adopted from the Dutch the now unrecognizable saint, calling him Santa Claus (a contraction of the Dutch Sint Nikolaas). They moved his feast day to the English gift holiday, Christmas. The career and qualities attributed to Santa Claus are all recently acquired.

Nicholas (Nikolai Nikolayevich), 1856-1929, Russian grand duke and army officer; first cousin of Czar Alexander III and grandson of Czar Nicholas I. He served in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. During the Revolution of 1905, he refused the czar's request that he become military dictator, thus forcing Nicholas to accept Count Witte's plan for an elective national assembly. Nicholas was made commander in chief of the Russian armies at the outbreak of World War I. In 1915 Czar Nicholas II, influenced by the czarina and Rasputin, relieved him of his post and took over the command himself. Grand Duke Nicholas was made commander in the Caucasus, where he won successes against the Turks until the February Revolution of 1917 deprived him of his command. He left Russia in 1919 and settled in France.

Nicholas, Antonio Fayard: see Nicholas Brothers.

Nicholas, Harold Lloyd: see Nicholas Brothers.

Hilliard, Nicholas, 1537-1619, English miniature painter, son of a goldsmith. Trained first as a jeweler, he was court painter to Elizabeth and to James I. The first true miniaturist in England, Hilliard was self-taught. He painted meticulous linear portraits on card or vellum, even on the backs of playing cards. His works were highly individual, elegant and subtle, particularly well suited to their form. He and his pupil Isaac Oliver led their field. Hilliard's reputation gained him many distinguished Elizabethans as subjects. Much of his work is at Windsor Castle and in the private collections of England; Queen Elizabeth (1572) is in the National Portrait Gallery and his Portrait of a Youth (c.1588) is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, both in London. An essay on miniature painting, The Art of Limning, is attributed to Hilliard.

Longworth, Nicholas, 1869-1931, American legislator, b. Cincinnati. A lawyer, he practiced in Cincinnati, where his family had long been prominent. He served (1899-1903) in the Ohio legislature and, with the support of George B. Cox, was elected (1903) to the U.S. House of Representatives. He married (1906) Alice Lee Roosevelt (see Longworth, Alice Lee Roosevelt), the daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt. As a congressman (1903-13, 1915-31), Longworth was (1925-31) Speaker of the House and became recognized as a master of congressional procedure.

Vansittart, Nicholas, 1st Baron Bexley, 1766-1851, British politician. He entered Parliament in 1796, was joint secretary of the treasury (1801-4, 1806-7) and briefly secretary for Ireland (1805), and in 1812 he became chancellor of the exchequer under the 2d earl of Liverpool. He held office for 11 years, dealing with the problems of economic adjustment that followed the end of the Napoleonic Wars. A loyal follower of Viscount Sidmouth, he resigned (1823) not long after Sidmouth. He was raised to the peerage in 1823 and remained in the cabinet as chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster until 1828.

Grimald, Grimalde, or Grimoald, Nicholas, 1519?-1562?, English poet. He contributed 40 poems to the first edition (1557) of Tottel's miscellany, of which "A Funeral Song upon the Decease of Annes, His Mother" is the most noteworthy. His other works include two Latin dramas and translations of Vergil and Cicero.

Grimoald, Nicholas: see Grimald, Nicholas.

Sanders or Sander, Nicholas, 1530-81, English Roman Catholic churchman. He became prominent at Oxford as an ally of Cardinal Pole and had to flee on the accession of Elizabeth I. He attended the Council of Trent and traveled in Poland and Lithuania. He rose to prominence as a leader of the exiled English Catholics. From 1573 to 1578 he worked on plans to restore Catholicism by deposing Elizabeth, and in 1579 he sailed with a Spanish troop to join in the revolt of the earl of Desmond. Disaster overtook them, and in 1581 he died of the hardships he had undergone. His De origine ac progressu schismatis Anglicani is the prime source for the state of Roman Catholics in England under Elizabeth I.

Berdyaev, Nicholas, 1874-1948, Russian theologian and religious philosopher, b. Kiev. After an early period as a Marxist, Berdyaev became prominent in a brilliant circle of Russian intellectuals famous in their time for their interest in Russian Orthodoxy. Forced into exile in 1922, Berdyaev attracted similar circles in Berlin and Paris. He wrote prolifically and gained wide recognition. He decried the dehumanization of man by modern technology and believed that man fulfills himself in the free, creative act. Fond of dichotomies, Berdyaev discussed history in terms of eschatology and the human in terms of the divine. He believed in the ideal of the Godmanhood. Among his many works are The End of Our Time (tr. 1933); The Destiny of Man (tr. 1937); Slavery and Freedom (tr. 1944); Dream and Reality: an Essay in Autobiography (tr. 1950); Truth and Revelation (tr. 1953).

Biddle, Nicholas, 1750-78, American naval officer, b. Philadelphia. Biddle left the British navy in 1773. In the American Revolution he became captain in the patriot navy and daringly raided British shipping off the American coast. After receiving command (1777) of the ship Randolph, Biddle was killed and his ship destroyed in an encounter (1778) with the British warship Yarmouth off the coast of Barbados.

Biddle, Nicholas, 1786-1844, American financier, b. Philadelphia. After holding important posts in the American legations in France and England, he returned to the United States in 1807 and became one of the leading lights of Port-Folio, a literary magazine, which he edited after 1812. He was also commissioned to write the history of the Lewis and Clark expedition, but turned over the job to Paul Allen, a Philadelphia journalist, when he was elected (1810) to the state house of representatives, where he served a single term. In 1819, President Monroe appointed him one of the government directors of the Bank of the United States. He became its president in 1823, and his administration illustrated his belief in the necessity of a central banking institution to stabilize the currency and curb the inflationary tendencies of the era. He became the leading target of the Jacksonians in their war against the bank. After the bank failed of recharter, Biddle operated it as a private bank until it collapsed (1841) as an aftermath of the Panic of 1837. He was charged with fraud but was subsequently acquitted. Biddle's public correspondence dealing with national affairs (1817-44) was edited by Reginald McGrane (1919).

Copernicus, Nicholas, Pol. Mikotaj Kopérnik, 1473-1543, Polish astronomer. After studying astronomy at the Univ. of Kraków, he spent a number of years in Italy studying various subjects, including medicine and canon law. He lectured c.1500 in Rome on mathematics and astronomy; in 1512 he settled in Frauenburg, East Prussia, where he had been nominated canon of the cathedral. There he performed his canonical duties, practiced medicine, was a legal officer, and wrote a pioneering treatise on currency reform. But the work that immortalized him is De revolutionibus orbium coelestium, in which he set forth his beliefs concerning the universe, known as the Copernican system. That treatise, which was dedicated to Pope Paul III, was probably completed by 1530 but was not published until 1543, when Copernicus was on his deathbed. Modern astronomy was built upon the foundation of the Copernican system.

Ridley, Nicholas, c.1500-1555, English prelate, reformer, and Protestant martyr. In 1534, while a proctor of Cambridge, he signed the decree against the pope's supremacy in England. In 1537 he became chaplain to Thomas Cranmer, in 1540 master of Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, and in 1541 chaplain to Henry VIII and canon of Canterbury. As bishop of Rochester (1547), Ridley was chosen to strengthen and establish the Reformed teachings at Cambridge. In the reign of Edward VI, he took part in compiling (1548) the Book of Common Prayer, and he was a commissioner in the examination that resulted in the deposition of bishops Stephen Gardiner and Edmund Bonner. In 1550 he succeeded Bonner as bishop of London, where he did much to improve the condition of the poor by preaching on social injustices before the king. Ridley supported Lady Jane Grey's claims to the crown, and in 1553, shortly after Mary Tudor's accession as the Catholic Mary I, he was imprisoned. With Cranmer and Hugh Latimer he took part (1554) in the Oxford disputations against a group of Catholic theologians and would not recant his Protestant faith. He was burned at the stake with Latimer before Balliol Hall, Oxford. Latimer's parting words to Ridley are often quoted: "Be of good courage, brother Ridley, and play the man; for we shall this day light such a candle by God's grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out."

Rowe, Nicholas, 1674-1718, English dramatist. An ardent Whig, he was able to gain various government posts during the course of his life. In 1715 he became poet laureate. His first two plays, The Ambitious Stepmother (1700) and Tamerlane (1701), established his reputation as a popular playwright. Soon afterward he wrote his best plays, The Fair Penitent (1703) and Jane Shore (1714); both are stories of men's cruelty to women that prefigure the domestic tragedies popular later in the 18th cent. Rowe is also well known for his edition of Shakespeare (1709), which supplied valuable textual and biographical data and divided the plays into acts and scenes.

Titulescu, Nicholas, 1882?-1941, Romanian statesman. A professor of law at Bucharest Univ., he was finance minister (1917, 1920-21) and served as foreign minister from 1927 to 1928 and from 1932 to 1936. Titulescu was one of the chief figures in the League of Nations, serving (1930, 1931) as president of the General Assembly. A champion of the French-sponsored policy of collective security, he was an architect of the Little Entente and later of the Balkan Entente (1934). He was detested by the fascist Iron Guard and by other extreme reactionary elements in his country; his resignation was forced in 1936. Shortly afterward he settled in France, where he died.

Hawksmoor, Nicholas, 1661-1736, English architect involved in the development of most of the great buildings of the English baroque. From the age of 21 he assisted Sir Christopher Wren in the design of Chelsea Hospital, city churches, royal residences, and St. Paul's Cathedral. He became deputy surveyor (1705-29) in the construction of Greenwich Hospital. In the building of the great residences, Castle Howard and Blenheim Palace, he was associated with Sir John Vanbrugh. Under the act of 1711, Hawksmoor was appointed one of the architects to design 50 churches in London. He planned (1714-30) six highly original churches, which included St. George's, Bloomsbury; Christ Church, Spitalfields; and the rebuilding of St. Mary Woolnoth. At Oxford he designed the north quadrangle of All Souls' College. Influenced by architectural elements of many periods, Hawksmoor arrived at an individuality of design that makes him a significant figure in the history of the international baroque.

Horthy de Nagybanya, Nicholas, Hung. Nagybányai Horthy Miklós, 1868-1957, Hungarian admiral and regent. He commanded the Austro-Hungarian fleet in World War I. After Béla Kun seized (1919) power in Hungary, the counterrevolutionary government put Horthy in command of its forces. When the Romanian forces that had defeated Kun evacuated Budapest (Nov., 1919), Horthy entered it and in 1920 was made regent and head of the state. He checked two attempts (March and Oct., 1921) of former Emperor Charles I to regain his throne in Hungary—once by persuasion and once by armed force. Charles was then formally barred from the throne and exiled, and Horthy found himself regent of a kingless kingdom. A nationalist who was distinctly inclined toward the right, he guided Hungary through the years between the two world wars. After the suicide (1941) of the premier, Paul Teleki, Hungary entered World War II as an ally of Germany. Despite Horthy's opposition, German troops occupied Hungary in Mar., 1944. When Russian troops entered Hungary, Horthy sent an armistice commission to Moscow and announced (Oct., 1944) the surrender of Hungary. The Germans immediately forced Horthy to countermand his order and resign. He was taken to Bavaria and later was freed by U.S. troops. After appearing as a witness at the Nuremberg war-crimes trial (1946), he settled (1949) in Portugal, where he died. His memoirs appeared in English in 1956.

Ferrar, Nicholas, 1592-1637, English theologian. He was associated (1618-23) with the Virginia Company and, with his brother John, played a notable role in its affairs. He retired from Parliament and founded (1625) an austere religious community at Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire; the community consisted of 30 persons engaged in charitable works and intense study of the Scriptures. It was visited and approved (1633) by Charles I, but it was later attacked as an "Arminian nunnery" because of its monastic tendencies and disbanded by Parliament in 1647.

Fish, Nicholas, 1758-1833 and 1848-1902: see Fish, family.

Udall, Nicholas, 1505-56, English dramatist, educated at Oxford. He was headmaster of Eton (1534-41) and of Westminster School (from 1554). His one extant play, Ralph Roister Doister (c.1545), is regarded as the first complete English comedy. The influence of Plautus and Terence is evident, but the play is distinguished by its elements of native English humor.

Blake, Nicholas: see Day Lewis, Cecil.

Stone, Nicholas, 1586-1647, English sculptor and mason, b. Devonshire. He rose to a position of highest importance as a decorative sculptor, working after designs by Inigo Jones. His independent productions include the gate at St. Mary's, Oxford, and numerous tombs, such as that of the Viscount Dorchester, Westminster Abbey. His notebook and account book are preserved in the Soane Museum, London, and give much information about his trade. He also wrote a work on fortifications (1645).

Breakspear, Nicholas: see Adrian IV.

Breton, Nicholas, 1551?-c.1623, English author, a prolific and versatile writer of verse and prose. His best work, written in a lyrical and pastoral vein, appeared in The Arbor of Amorous Devices (1597), England's Helicon (1600), and The Passionate Shepherd (1604).

Herkimer, Nicholas, 1728-77, American Revolutionary general. He was born in a German colony near the present town of Herkimer, N.Y. He served in the French and Indian War and was appointed (1776) brigadier general in the New York militia. In 1777 in the Saratoga campaign, Herkimer was leading a relief party to the Americans besieged by General St. Leger at Fort Stanwix when at Oriskany Creek they were ambushed by a force of Loyalists and Native Americans. Herkimer was mortally wounded, and his force had to retreat, but St. Leger later abandoned his plan to join Burgoyne.

(born December 1505?, Southampton, Hampshire, Eng.—died December 1556, Westminster) English playwright, translator, and schoolmaster. The headmaster of Eton College from 1534 and of Westminster from 1555, Udall was well known as a translator. He is credited with writing many plays, of which only one is extant, Ralph Roister Doister (performed circa 1553), the first known English comedy. About a braggart soldier-hero who is finally shown to be an arrant coward, it marks the emergence of comedy from the medieval morality plays, interludes, and farces.

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or Santa Claus

(flourished 4th century, Myra, Lycia, Asia Minor; feast day December 6) Minor saint associated with Christmas. Probably bishop of Myra, he is reputed to have provided dowries for three poor girls to save them from prostitution and to have restored to life three children who had been chopped up by a butcher. He became the patron saint of Russia and Greece, of charitable fraternities and guilds, and of children, sailors, unmarried girls, merchants, and pawnbrokers. After the Reformation his cult disappeared in all the Protestant countries of Europe except Holland, where he was known as Sinterklaas. Dutch colonists brought the tradition to New Amsterdam (now New York City), and English-speaking Americans adopted him as Santa Claus, who is believed to live at the North Pole and to bring gifts to children at Christmas.

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(born June 20, 1674, Little Barford, Bedfordshire, Eng.—died Dec. 6, 1718, London) English writer. His plays, which did much to assist the rise of domestic tragedy (in which the protagonists are middle-class rather than aristocratic), include The Ambitious Step-Mother (1700), Tamerlane (1702), The Fair Penitent (1703), The Tragedy of Jane Shore (1714), and The Tragedy of the Lady Jane Grey (1715). He is also remembered as the first to attempt a critical edition of William Shakespeare (The Works of Mr. William Shakespear, 1709, 1714). His own poetry includes odes and translations. He became poet laureate in 1715. Rowe is regarded as the foremost 18th-century English tragic dramatist.

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or Santa Claus

(flourished 4th century, Myra, Lycia, Asia Minor; feast day December 6) Minor saint associated with Christmas. Probably bishop of Myra, he is reputed to have provided dowries for three poor girls to save them from prostitution and to have restored to life three children who had been chopped up by a butcher. He became the patron saint of Russia and Greece, of charitable fraternities and guilds, and of children, sailors, unmarried girls, merchants, and pawnbrokers. After the Reformation his cult disappeared in all the Protestant countries of Europe except Holland, where he was known as Sinterklaas. Dutch colonists brought the tradition to New Amsterdam (now New York City), and English-speaking Americans adopted him as Santa Claus, who is believed to live at the North Pole and to bring gifts to children at Christmas.

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(born 1401, Kues, Trier—died Aug. 11, 1464, Todi, Papal States) German cardinal, mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. Ordained a priest in 1440, he was made a cardinal in Italy and became bishop there in 1450. In On Catholic Concordance (1433), he supported the supremacy of the general councils of the church over the papacy's authority (see conciliar movement). However, after witnessing the failure of the Council of Basel to unify the church or enact reform, he reversed his position and became an ardent supporter of the pope. Skilled in nearly every branch of learning, he anticipated the work of Nicolaus Copernicus by discerning a movement in the universe that did not centre on the Earth. He also carried out botanical experiments and collected ancient manuscripts. In his discourse On Learned Ignorance (1440), he described the learned man as one who is aware of his own ignorance.

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orig. Tommaso Parentucelli

(born Nov. 15, 1397, Sarzana, Republic of Genoa—died March 24, 1455, Rome) Pope (1447–55). Soon after his election, he ended the schism caused by the rivalry between popes and church councils. He restored peace to the Papal States, won Poland's allegiance, and gained the support of Austria by promising to crown Frederick III as Holy Roman emperor. Nicholas initiated the Peace of Lodi (1455) in order to end strife in Italy, and he tried to stamp out simony and other corrupt practices in the church. A patron of art and scholarship, he rebuilt many of Rome's architectural treasures and founded the Vatican Library. Although Nicholas was the first of the Renaissance popes, his failure to promote real religious reform helped bring about the Reformation of the 16th century.

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(born December 1505?, Southampton, Hampshire, Eng.—died December 1556, Westminster) English playwright, translator, and schoolmaster. The headmaster of Eton College from 1534 and of Westminster from 1555, Udall was well known as a translator. He is credited with writing many plays, of which only one is extant, Ralph Roister Doister (performed circa 1553), the first known English comedy. About a braggart soldier-hero who is finally shown to be an arrant coward, it marks the emergence of comedy from the medieval morality plays, interludes, and farces.

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(born June 20, 1674, Little Barford, Bedfordshire, Eng.—died Dec. 6, 1718, London) English writer. His plays, which did much to assist the rise of domestic tragedy (in which the protagonists are middle-class rather than aristocratic), include The Ambitious Step-Mother (1700), Tamerlane (1702), The Fair Penitent (1703), The Tragedy of Jane Shore (1714), and The Tragedy of the Lady Jane Grey (1715). He is also remembered as the first to attempt a critical edition of William Shakespeare (The Works of Mr. William Shakespear, 1709, 1714). His own poetry includes odes and translations. He became poet laureate in 1715. Rowe is regarded as the foremost 18th-century English tragic dramatist.

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(born April 2, 1862, Elizabeth, N.J., U.S.—died Dec. 7, 1947, New York, N.Y.) U.S. educator. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He was the founding president of what is today Columbia's Teachers College (1886–91). As president of Columbia University itself (1901–45), he led the institution to world renown. Early in his career he criticized prevailing pedagogical methods, but later he turned on pedagogical reform itself, decrying vocationalism in education and behaviorism in psychology. A champion of international understanding, he helped establish the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1910 and served as its president (1925–45). In 1931 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Jane Addams.

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Russian Nikolay Aleksandrovich

(born May 18, 1868, Tsarskoye Selo, near St. Petersburg, Russia—died July 16/17, 1918, Yekaterinburg) Tsar of Russia (1894–1917). Son of Alexander III, he received a military education and succeeded his father as tsar in 1894. He was an autocratic but indecisive ruler and was devoted to his wife, Alexandra, who strongly influenced his rule. His interest in Asia led to construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad and also helped cause the disastrous Russo-Japanese War (1904–05). After the Russian Revolution of 1905, he agreed reluctantly to a representative Duma but restricted its powers and made only token efforts to enact its measures. His prime minister, Pyotr Stolypin, attempted reforms, but Nicholas, increasingly influenced by Alexandra and Grigory Rasputin, opposed him. After Russia suffered setbacks in World War I, Nicholas ousted the popular grand duke Nicholas as commander in chief of Russian forces and assumed command himself, at the bidding of Alexandra and Rasputin. His absence from Moscow and Alexandra's mismanagement of the government caused increasing unrest and culminated in the Russian Revolution of 1917. Nicholas abdicated in March 1917 and was detained with his family by Georgy Y. Lvov's provisional government. Plans for the royal family to be sent to England were overruled by the local Bolsheviks. Instead the family was sent to the city of Yekaterinburg, where they were executed in July 1918.

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Russian Nikolay Pavlovich

(born July 6, 1796, Tsarkoye Selo, near St. Petersburg, Russia—died March 2, 1855, St. Petersburg) Tsar of Russia (1825–55). He was the son of Paul I and was trained as an army officer. In 1825 he succeeded his brother Alexander I as emperor and suppressed the Decembrist revolt. His reign came to represent autocracy, militarism, and bureaucracy. To enforce his policies, he created such agencies as the Third Section (political police). In foreign policy, Nicholas quelled an uprising in Poland (1830–31) and aided Austria against a Hungarian uprising (1849). His designs on Constantinople led to war with Turkey (1853) and drew other European powers into the Crimean War. He was succeeded by his son Alexander II.

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(born 1547, Exeter, Eng.—died Jan. 7, 1619, London) British painter. The son of a goldsmith, he trained as a jeweler and began painting miniatures in his youth. In 1570 he was appointed miniature painter to Elizabeth I. He produced many portraits of her and of such members of her court as Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh. He retained his appointment on the accession of James I (1603), while also practicing as a goldsmith and jeweler. The first great native-born English painter of the Renaissance, he raised the art of miniature painting to its highest point of development and influenced English portraiture through the early 17th century.

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U.S. tap-dancing duo. Fayard Antonio Nicholas (b. Oct. 20, 1914, Mobile, Ala., U.S.—d. Jan. 24, 2006, Los Angeles, Calif.) and his brother Harold Lloyd Nicholas (b. March 17, 1921, Winston-Salem, N.C.—d. July 3, 2000, New York, N.Y.) developed the “classical tap” form, combining jazz dance, ballet, and acrobatics with tap. They gained fame at a young age while dancing at Harlem's Cotton Club (1932–39); they went on to appear in films such as Stormy Weather (1943), as well as on Broadway and later on television. They began their careers at a time when opportunities were few and stereotyped roles the norm for black entertainers, but they rose above this marginalization and enhanced the art of tap with their elegance and sensational showmanship.

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(born Jan. 8, 1786, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—died Feb. 27, 1844, Philadelphia) U.S. author, financier, and lawyer. He served as secretary to Pres. James Monroe (1806–07), then minister to England, and, afterward, while practicing law in the U.S., he wrote History of the Expedition of Captains Lewis and Clark (1814) from the explorers' notes. In 1823 Monroe appointed him president of the Second Bank of the United States. He developed the bank into the first effective U.S. central bank, sponsoring policies that curbed credit, regulated the money supply, and safeguarded government deposits. In 1832 the bank came under attack from Pres. Andrew Jackson, who managed to terminate its national charter in 1836. Biddle later became president of the bank under a Pennsylvania state charter. The Federal Reserve System was later established as the country's central bank.

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Russian Nikolay Nikolayevich

(born Nov. 18, 1856, St. Petersburg, Russia—died Jan. 5, 1929, Antibes, France) Russian grand duke. The nephew of Tsar Alexander II, he entered the imperial army (1872) and served in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78). As inspector general of calvary (1895–1905), he introduced reforms in training and equipment. From 1905 he commanded the St. Petersburg military district, and in 1914 he was appointed head of all Russian forces. A popular commander, he led the army to early successes in World War I but was hampered by shortages. Dismissed in 1915 by Nicholas II, he commanded in the Caucasus (1915–17). After the Russian Revolution of 1917 he moved to France, where he led an organization to unite anticommunist Russian émigrés.

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(born Nov. 10, 1879, Springfield, Ill., U.S.—died Dec. 5, 1931, Springfield) U.S. poet. In his youth, he began traveling the country reciting his poems in return for food and shelter, in an attempt to revive poetry as an oral art form of the common people. He first received widespread recognition for “General William Booth Enters into Heaven” (1913), about the founder of the Salvation Army. His works are full of powerful rhythms, vivid imagery, and bold rhymes and express an ardent patriotism, a passion for progressive democracy, and a romantic view of nature. His collections include Rhymes to Be Traded for Bread (1912), The Congo (1914), and The Chinese Nightingale (1917). He was responsible for discovering the work of Langston Hughes. Depressed and unstable in later years, he committed suicide by drinking poison.

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(born 1547, Exeter, Eng.—died Jan. 7, 1619, London) British painter. The son of a goldsmith, he trained as a jeweler and began painting miniatures in his youth. In 1570 he was appointed miniature painter to Elizabeth I. He produced many portraits of her and of such members of her court as Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh. He retained his appointment on the accession of James I (1603), while also practicing as a goldsmith and jeweler. The first great native-born English painter of the Renaissance, he raised the art of miniature painting to its highest point of development and influenced English portraiture through the early 17th century.

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(born April 2, 1862, Elizabeth, N.J., U.S.—died Dec. 7, 1947, New York, N.Y.) U.S. educator. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He was the founding president of what is today Columbia's Teachers College (1886–91). As president of Columbia University itself (1901–45), he led the institution to world renown. Early in his career he criticized prevailing pedagogical methods, but later he turned on pedagogical reform itself, decrying vocationalism in education and behaviorism in psychology. A champion of international understanding, he helped establish the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1910 and served as its president (1925–45). In 1931 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Jane Addams.

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(born Jan. 8, 1786, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—died Feb. 27, 1844, Philadelphia) U.S. author, financier, and lawyer. He served as secretary to Pres. James Monroe (1806–07), then minister to England, and, afterward, while practicing law in the U.S., he wrote History of the Expedition of Captains Lewis and Clark (1814) from the explorers' notes. In 1823 Monroe appointed him president of the Second Bank of the United States. He developed the bank into the first effective U.S. central bank, sponsoring policies that curbed credit, regulated the money supply, and safeguarded government deposits. In 1832 the bank came under attack from Pres. Andrew Jackson, who managed to terminate its national charter in 1836. Biddle later became president of the bank under a Pennsylvania state charter. The Federal Reserve System was later established as the country's central bank.

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The male given name Nicholas is derived from the Greek Νικόλαος, Nikolaos, a combination of the words for "victory" (nikē) and "people" (laos). The name can be understood to mean victory of the people although some say it means "power of the people". The name became popular through Saint Nicholas of Myra, the inspiration for Santa Claus. The customary English version of spelling "Nicholas", using an "h", is derived from one way of transliterating the diacritic on the 'o' of the original Greek word Νικόλαος. It is claimed to have first come into use in the 12th century and to have been firmly established by the time of the Reformation. Nonetheless, the spelling "Nicolas" without "h" is occasionally found in English speaking countries (e.g. Nicolas Cage). In 2006, Nicholas was the 17th most popular male name given to babies in the USA. Roughly 0.7151% of the baby boys born that year, or 15,414, were given that name. It is decreasing in popularity, from a high in 1997, when 27,248 US males were given the name Nicholas. That year was the most popular year for Nicholas since 1880, when US records began for given names.

The Greek Orthodox Church celebrates Saint Nicholas every year on the 6th December. This day is the name day for "Nicholas".

Male variations

Variations for males include :

• Albanian: Nikolla, Nikollë, Kola
• Basque: Nikola
• Bulgarian: Никола (Nikola), Николай (Nikolay)
• Croatian: Nikola, Niko, Nikša, Nikica
• Czech: Mikula, Mikoláš, Mikuláš, Nikola
• Danish: Claus, Klaus, Niels, Nikolaus, Nikolaj, Nilaus, Nis
• Dutch: Klaas, Nico, Nicolaas, Niek, Nikolaas
• English: Nic, Nick, Nickolas, Nicky, Nik, Nicolas, Nikolas, Nicholas, Nikholas
• Esperanto: Nichjo, Nikolao
• Estonian: Nigul
• Finnish: Launo, Niilo, Niklas, Niko
• French: Nicolas, Nico, Colas, Colin
• Frisian (West): Klaes
• Galician: Nicolau
• Georgian: Nikoloz
• German: Claus, Claas, Klaas, Klaus, Klas, Nickolaus, Nicolas, Nicolaus, Niklaus, Nikolaus, Niklas, Nico, Niko
• Greek: Νικόλαος (Nicolaos), Νικόλας (Nikolas), Νίκος (Nikos)
• Hungarian: Miklós, Nikola
• Irish: Nioclás
• Italian: Niccolò, Nico, Nicola, Nicolò, Nicolai
• Latvian: Nikolajs, Niks
• Lithuanian: Mikalojus
• SlavoMacedonian: Nikola, Kole, Nikolče (Pronounced Nik-col-che)
• Norwegian: Nils
• Polish: Mikołaj
• Portuguese: Nicolau
• Romanian: Neculai, Nicolae, Nicu, Nicusor, Niculae
• Russian: Коля (Kolya), Николай (Nikolai)
• Scottish: Neacel, Nichol, Nicol
• Serbian: Никола (Nikola)
• Slovak: Mikuláš, Nikola
• Slovene: Miklavž, Niko, Nikolaj
• Spanish: Nicolao, Nicolás
• Swedish: Nels, Niklas, Niclas, Nicklas, Nils, Klas, Claes
• Ukrainian: Mykolai, Mykola

Female forms

Female forms include :

• Bulgarian: Николина (Nikolina), Николета (Nikoleta)
• Croatian: Nikolina, Nika, Nina
• Czech: Nikola
• Dutch: Klasina, Klazina, Nicole, Nicolien, Nicolet, Nicoline
• Danish: Nikoline
• English: Nicole/Nichole/Nicolle/Nikole/Nikkole, Nicola/Nichola, Nicolette, Colette, Nicky/Nikki/Nicci
• French: Colette, Coline, Nicole, Nicolette, Nicoline
• German: Nicole, Nicola, Nikola
• Greek: Νίκη (Níkē, a conflation with Nike), Νικολέτα (Nikoléta), Νικολίνα (Νikolína)
• Hungarian: Nikolett
• Italian: Nicoletta, Nicla, Nicole, Nicolina
• Macedonian: Nikolina
• Romanian: Niculina, Nicoleta
• Scottish: Nicola
• Serbian: Nikolija (archaic), Nikolina, Nikoleta
• Slovak: Nikola
• Slovene: Nika
• Spanish: Nicolasa, Nicolá
• Swedish: Nicole

People known as Nicholas

• Nicholas of Cusa
• Nicholas I of Montenegro, King of Montenegro
• Nicholas I of Russia
• Nicholas II of Russia
• Nicholas of Tolentino
• Nicholas is also the name of five popes (Pope Nicholas I, Pope Nicholas II, Pope Nicholas III, Pope Nicholas IV, and Pope Nicholas V), Antipope Nicholas V and four Patriarchs of Constantinople
• Nicholas Brothers, Fayard and Harold, dancers
• Nick Griffin, British nationalist leader
• Nick Jonas, American singer and actor

Saints

• Saint Nicholas The Duc Bui, one of the Vietnamese Martyrs
• Saint Nicholas of Flue
• Saint Nicholas of Japan
• Saint Nicholas of Myra, also known as Sinterklaas

References

See also

• Nicolas
• Nikolay
• Nicolay
• Nick
• Nico (given name)