Fergus Nicoll
Encyclopedia
Fergus Nicoll is a freelance journalist, author and news presenter with the BBC World Service
. He is one the presenters of the current affairs programme The World Today
.
, Christ Church, Oxford
(BA Oriental Studies) and Reading University (PhD: "Gladstone, Gordon and Sudan, 1883-5").
, he began his career with the BBC in 1988 with the African Service. He moved to the BBC's Cairo Bureau in 1992 and spent three years (1996-9) as a World Affairs Correspondent, filing for the World Service and BBC World
TV. Since 2001, he has been a freelance presenter on the BBC World Service radio programme The World Today.
, The Sword of the Prophet:The Mahdi of Sudan and the Death of General Gordon. His second book, a biography of the Mughal
Emperor Shah Jahan
, was published by Haus Publishing in April 2009 as Shah Jahan: The Rise and Fall of the Mughal Emperor. Penguin-India (under the Viking imprint) published the same volume in September 2009. Returning to Sudan studies, Nicoll published An Index to the Complete Works of al-Imam al-Mahdi in June 2009. The Abd-al-Karim Mirghani Cultural Centre in Omdurman followed this with the publication of an Arabic translation of The Mahdi of Sudan in October 2009, under the title Seif al-Nabi: Mahdi al-Sudan. In September 2010, the Qasim Data Centre in Khartoum published Nicoll's Bibliography of the Mahdia. Nicoll is currently working on a comprehensive account of the siege of Khartoum in 1884-5, based on unexpurgated editions of the Khartoum journals of Colonel J. Donald Hammill-Stewart (January-April 1884) and General Charles Gordon (September-December 1884), both of which formed part of his PhD thesis approved by Reading University.
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
. He is one the presenters of the current affairs programme The World Today
The World Today (BBC World Service)
The World Today is BBC World Service's high profile, Sony Radio Academy Award winning, early morning news and current affairs programme, which as of the 27th March 2011 will be broadcast from 0300 to 0830 daily. It consists of news bulletins on the hour and half hour, serious international...
.
Education
Fergus Nicoll was educated at Ampleforth CollegeAmpleforth College
Ampleforth College in North Yorkshire, England, is the largest Roman Catholic co-educational boarding independent school in the United Kingdom. It opened in 1802, as a boys' school, and is run by the Benedictine monks and lay staff of Ampleforth Abbey...
, Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
(BA Oriental Studies) and Reading University (PhD: "Gladstone, Gordon and Sudan, 1883-5").
Broadcasting career
After working as a teacher in northern SudanSudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, he began his career with the BBC in 1988 with the African Service. He moved to the BBC's Cairo Bureau in 1992 and spent three years (1996-9) as a World Affairs Correspondent, filing for the World Service and BBC World
BBC World
BBC World News is the BBC's international news and current affairs television channel. It has the largest audience of any BBC channel in the world...
TV. Since 2001, he has been a freelance presenter on the BBC World Service radio programme The World Today.
Writing
In 2004, Nicoll published a biography of the Mahdi of SudanMuhammad Ahmad
Muhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...
, The Sword of the Prophet:The Mahdi of Sudan and the Death of General Gordon. His second book, a biography of the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
Emperor Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) Shah Jahan (also spelled Shah Jehan, Shahjehan, , Persian: شاه جهان) (January 5, 1592 – January 22, 1666) (Full title: His Imperial Majesty Al-Sultan al-'Azam wal Khaqan...
, was published by Haus Publishing in April 2009 as Shah Jahan: The Rise and Fall of the Mughal Emperor. Penguin-India (under the Viking imprint) published the same volume in September 2009. Returning to Sudan studies, Nicoll published An Index to the Complete Works of al-Imam al-Mahdi in June 2009. The Abd-al-Karim Mirghani Cultural Centre in Omdurman followed this with the publication of an Arabic translation of The Mahdi of Sudan in October 2009, under the title Seif al-Nabi: Mahdi al-Sudan. In September 2010, the Qasim Data Centre in Khartoum published Nicoll's Bibliography of the Mahdia. Nicoll is currently working on a comprehensive account of the siege of Khartoum in 1884-5, based on unexpurgated editions of the Khartoum journals of Colonel J. Donald Hammill-Stewart (January-April 1884) and General Charles Gordon (September-December 1884), both of which formed part of his PhD thesis approved by Reading University.