John Nicholson | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:General_John_Nicholson_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_16528.jpg) Brigadier General John Nicholson | |
| Born | 11 December 1822[1] Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 23 September 1857 (aged 34) Delhi, Mughal Empire |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | East India Company |
| Service | Bengal Army |
| Years of service | 1839–1857 |
| Rank | Brigadier General |
| Unit | Bengal Native Infantry |
| Battles / wars | First Anglo-Afghan War First Anglo-Sikh War Second Anglo-Sikh War |
| Awards | Companion of the Order of the Bath |
| Other work | Colonial administrator |
Brigadier General John Nicholson, CB (11 December 1822 – 23 September 1857) was an Anglo-Irish military officer who rose to prominence during his career in British India. Born in Ireland, Nicholson moved to the Indian subcontinent at a young age and obtained a commission in the Bengal Army where he spent the majority of his career helping to expand the East India Company's territories in numerous conflicts, including the First Anglo-Afghan War and the first and second Anglo-Sikh wars. Nicholson created a legend for himself as a political officer under Henry Lawrence in the frontier provinces of British India, especially in the Punjab, and he was instrumental in the establishment of the North-West Frontier.[2] Nicholson's most defining moment in his military career was his crucial role in suppressing the Indian Rebellion of 1857, a conflict in which he died.
A charismatic and authoritarian figure, Nicholson led a life whose controversial exploits have created a polarized legacy; contemporary descriptions of Nicholson presented him as the man who was crucial in suppressing the Indian Rebellion,[3] while more recent historical accounts have described him as an "imperial psychopath"[4] and "a violent, manic figure, a homosexual bully; an extreme egoist who was pleased to affect a laconic indifference to danger".[5] His imposing physical appearance and noted deeds of valor and violence created an almost mythical status and even religious worship among the numerous tribes of the North-West Frontier whom Nicholson brought into the British Empire.[6]
- ^ Flinders, Stuart, Cult of a Dark Hero, 2019, Bloomsbury, ISBN 9781788312363
- ^ Allen 2002, pp. 2–328.
- ^ David 2002, p. 307.
- ^ Dalrymple 2009, p. 307.
- ^ Michael Edwardes, Bound To Exile: The Victorians In India,Sidgwick & Jackson, London 1969, p100
- ^ "The Irish soldier worshipped as an Indian god". The Irish Times. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.