William Nicol

Scottish geologist and physicist (1770-1851)
Person human Q1330440
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William Nicol

Summary

William Nicol is a human[1]. He was born in Humbie[2]. He was born on April 18, 1770[3]. He passed away in Edinburgh[4]. He died on September 2, 1851[5]. He worked as a physicist[6] and geologist[7]. He ranks in the top 0.73% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (34 views/month, #7,295 of 1,000,298).[8]

Key Facts

  • Born in Humbie[2], William Nicol…
  • William Nicol passed away in Edinburgh[4].
  • William Nicol was born on April 18, 1770[3].
  • William Nicol died on September 2, 1851[5].
  • Burial took place at Warriston Cemetery[9].
  • William Nicol held citizenship in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland[10].
  • William Nicol worked as a physicist[6].
  • William Nicol worked as a geologist[7].
  • William Nicol's field of work was physics[11].
  • William Nicol's field of work was geology[12].
  • William Nicol was employed by University of Edinburgh[13].
  • William Nicol's education included a stint at University of Edinburgh[14].
  • William Nicol received the Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh[15].
  • William Nicol received the Fellow of the Chemical Society[16].
  • William Nicol was a member of Royal Society of Edinburgh[17].
  • William Nicol is recorded as male[18].
  • William Nicol's instance of is recorded as human[19].
  • William Nicol's residence is recorded as Scotland[20].
  • William Nicol's family name is recorded as Nicol[21].
  • William Nicol's given name is recorded as William[22].
  • William Nicol's relative is recorded as Edward Sang[23].
  • William Nicol's described by source is recorded as Svensk uppslagsbok[24].
  • William Nicol's described by source is recorded as Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1926–1947)[25].
  • William Nicol's described by source is recorded as Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition[26].
  • William Nicol's described by source is recorded as Physicists: Biographical Dictionary[27].

Body

Origins and Family

William Nicol was born in Humbie[2]. He was born on April 18, 1770[3].

Education

William Nicol's education included a stint at University of Edinburgh[14].

Career and Affiliations

Recorded occupations include physicist[6] and geologist[7]. Fields of work include physics[11], a branch of science[28] and geology[12], a branch of science[29]. William Nicol was employed by University of Edinburgh[13].

Recognition

Awards received include Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh[15], a fellowship award[30], in United Kingdom[31] and Fellow of the Chemical Society[16].

Death and Burial

William Nicol died on September 2, 1851[5]. He passed away in Edinburgh[4]. Burial took place at Warriston Cemetery[9].

Works and Contributions

Things named for William Nicol include Dorsum Nicol[32], a dorsum[33].

Why It Matters

William Nicol ranks in the top 0.73% of human entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (34 views/month, #7,295 of 1,000,298).[8] He has Wikipedia articles in 12 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[34]

He is credited with the discovery of Nicol prism[35]. Entities named for him include Dorsum Nicol[32], a dorsum[33].

FAQs

Where was William Nicol born?

William Nicol was born in Humbie[2].

Where did William Nicol die?

William Nicol died in Edinburgh[4].

What did William Nicol do for work?

William Nicol worked as physicist[6] and geologist[7].

Where did William Nicol go to school?

William Nicol was educated at University of Edinburgh[14].

What awards did William Nicol receive?

Honors received include Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh[15] and Fellow of the Chemical Society[16].

What did William Nicol discover?

William Nicol is credited as discoverer of Nicol prism[35].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [2] . wikidata.org.
  2. [4] . wikidata.org.
  3. [18] . wikidata.org.
  4. [10] . wikidata.org.
  5. [19] . wikidata.org.
  6. [14] . wikidata.org.
  7. [11] . wikidata.org.
  8. [12] . wikidata.org.
  9. [6] . wikidata.org.
  10. [7] . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  11. [13] . wikidata.org.
  12. [9] . wikidata.org.
  13. [15] . wikidata.org.
  14. [16] . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] . wikidata.org.
  16. [20] . wikidata.org.
  17. [3] . SNAC. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  18. [5] . SNAC. Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  19. [21] . wikidata.org.
  20. [22] . wikidata.org.
  21. [23] . MacTutor History of Mathematics archive. wikidata.org.
  22. [24] . wikidata.org.
  23. [25] . wikidata.org.
  24. [26] . wikidata.org.
  25. [27] . wikidata.org.

Inverse relationships (entities pointing at this one)

  1. [35] . wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [32] . wikidata.org. → on this site

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [28] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  2. [29] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  3. [30] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  4. [31] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site
  5. [33] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [8] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [34] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). William Nicol. Retrieved April 10, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-nicol-q1330440
MLA “William Nicol.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 10 Apr. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-nicol-q1330440.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_william-nicol-q1330440_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{William Nicol}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-nicol-q1330440}, note = {Accessed: 2026-04-10}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): William Nicol — https://4ort.xyz/entity/william-nicol-q1330440 (retrieved 2026-04-10)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 4d ago · Pigsonthewing · 2026-06-03 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Occupation
    Sex or gender male
    Place of death Edinburgh
    Aliases
    + 23 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:1||1 */ [[Property:P14397]]: 3527, Matched to [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/entry/290071267|William Nicol (#290071267)]] in [[:toollabs:mix-n-match/#/catalog/7918|‎Darwin Corresponden"
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