John Nicholson

Brigadier John Nicholson was a British Victorian era military officer known for his role in British India. Born in Ireland, Nicholson moved to India at a young age and obtained a commission in the East India Company where he spent the majority of his life helping to expand British rule on the Company Raj's periphery in numerous conflicts such as the First Anglo-Afghan War and the First and Second Anglo-Sikh War. Nicholson created a legend for himself as a political officer under Henry Lawrence in the frontier provinces of the British Empire, especially in the Punjab, and he was instrumental in the settlement of the North-West Frontier. Perhaps Nicholson's most defining moment was his crucial role and death while suppressing the Indian Mutiny of 1857 which gained him adoration in Britain and infamy in India for his ruthlessness in crushing the rebellion.