Meredith Nicholson (December 9, 1866 – December 21, 1947) was a best-selling author from Indiana, United States, a politician, and a diplomat.

Meredith Nicholson
United States Minister to Nicaragua
In office
June 9, 1938 – February 27, 1941
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byBoaz Long
Succeeded byPierre de Lagarde Boal
United States Minister to Venezuela
In office
April 22, 1935 – April 14, 1938
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byGeorge T. Summerlin
Succeeded byAntonio C. Gonzalez
United States Minister to Paraguay
In office
October 30, 1933 – February 3, 1935
PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded byPost Wheeler
Succeeded byFindley Burtch Howard
Personal details
Born(1866-12-09)December 9, 1866
Crawfordsville, Indiana
DiedDecember 21, 1947(1947-12-21) (aged 81)
Indianapolis, Indiana
Political partyDemocratic

Biography

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Nicholson was born on December 9, 1866, in Crawfordsville, Indiana, to Edward Willis Nicholson and the former Emily Meredith. Largely self-taught, Nicholson began a newspaper career in 1884 at the Indianapolis Sentinel. He moved to the Indianapolis News the following year, where he remained until 1897.

He wrote Short Flights in 1891, and continued to publish extensively, both poetry and prose until 1928. During the first quarter of the 20th century, Nicholson, along with Booth Tarkington, George Ade, and James Whitcomb Riley helped to create a Golden Age of literature in Indiana. Three of his books from that era were national bestsellers: The House of a Thousand Candles (#4 in 1906), The Port of Missing Men (#3 in 1907), and A Hoosier Chronicle (#5 in 1912).

In 1928, Nicholson entered Democratic party politics, and served for two years as a city councillor in Indianapolis. He rose through the ranks of the Democratic party and was rewarded with appointments as envoy to Paraguay, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.

Nicholson was married first to Eugenie Clementine Kountze, daughter of Herman Kountze, and then to Dorothy Wolfe Lannon, whom he later divorced.

Nicholson died on December 21, 1947, in Indianapolis, aged 81, and is buried in the Crown Hill Cemetery.

Chronological bibliography

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1891: Short Flights, The Bowen-Merrill Co.
1900: The Hoosiers, The Macmillan Company
1903: The Main Chance, The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1904: Zelda Dameron, The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1905: The House of a Thousand Candles, The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1906: Poems The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1907: The Port of Missing Men, The Bobbs-Merrill Company; Rosalind at Red Gate, The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1908: The Little Brown Jug at Kildare, The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1909: The Lords of High Decision, Doubleday, Page & Company
1910: The Siege of the Seven Suitors, Houghton Mifflin Company
1912: A Hoosier Chronicle, Houghton Mifflin Company; The Provincial American and Other Papers, Houghton Mifflin Company
1913: Otherwise Phyllis, Houghton Mifflin Company
1914: The Poet, Houghton Mifflin Company
1916: The Proof of the Pudding, Houghton Mifflin Company
1917: The Madness of May, Charles Scribner's Sons; A Reversible Santa Claus, Houghton Mifflin Company
1918: The Valley of Democracy, Charles Scribner's Sons
1919: Lady Larkspur, Charles Scribner's Sons
1920: Blacksheep! Blacksheep!, Charles Scribner's Sons
1921: The Man in the Street, Charles Scribner's Sons
1922: Best Laid Schemes, Charles Scribner's Sons; Broken Barriers, Charles Scribner's Sons
1923: Honor Bright: A Comedy in Three Acts (with Kenyon Nicholson), Samuel French; The Hope of Happiness, Charles Scribner's Sons
1925: And They Lived Happily Ever After!, Charles Scribner's Sons
1928: The Cavalier of Tennessee, The Bobbs-Merrill Company
1929 Old Familiar Faces, The Bobbs-Merrill Company

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ "Jack Marshall Can't Do This l A Webseries - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved February 8, 2023.

Sources

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Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Post Wheeler
United States Minister to Paraguay
30 October 1933–3 February 1935
Succeeded by
Findley B. Howard
Preceded by
George R. Summerlin
United States Minister to Venezuela
April 22, 1935 – April 14, 1938
Succeeded by
Antonio C. Gonzalez
Preceded by
Boaz Long
United States Minister to Nicaragua
June 9, 1938 – February 27, 1941
Succeeded by