Robert Nicoll
Encyclopedia
Robert Nicoll Scottish
poet
, was born at the farm of Little Tullybeltane, in the parish of Auchtergaven, Perthshire
. When Robert was five years old his father was reduced to poverty. He became a day-labourer, and was able to give his son only a very slight education.
At 16 the boy was apprenticed to a grocer and wine-merchant at Perth. In 1833 he began to contribute to Johnstone's Magazine (afterwards Tait's Magazine), and in the next year his apprenticeship was cancelled. He visited Edinburgh, and was kindly received there, but obtained no employment. He opened a circulating library at Dundee, and in 1836 he became editor of the Leeds Times
. He was a member of the provisional committee of the Leeds Working Men’s Association, and of the Leeds Radical Association.
He held pronounced Radical
opinions, and overtaxed his slender physical resources in electioneering work for Sir William Molesworth in the summer of 1837. He was obliged to resign his editorship and died at the house of his friend William Tait
, at Trinity, near Edinburgh.
He had published a volume of Poems in 1835; and in 1844 appeared a further volume, Poems and Lyrics, with an anonymous memoir of the author by Mrs C I Johnstone. The best of his lyrics are those written in the Scottish dialect. They are simple in feeling and expression, genuine folksongs.
An eloquent appreciation of his character and his poetry was included in Charles Kingsley's article on Burns and his School in the North British Review for November 1851. See also P R Drummond, Life of Robert Nicholl, Poet (1884).
Robert Nicoll is buried in the North Leith Parish Churchyard.
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, was born at the farm of Little Tullybeltane, in the parish of Auchtergaven, Perthshire
Perthshire
Perthshire, officially the County of Perth , is a registration county in central Scotland. It extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, Rannoch Moor and Ben Lui in the west, and Aberfoyle in the south...
. When Robert was five years old his father was reduced to poverty. He became a day-labourer, and was able to give his son only a very slight education.
At 16 the boy was apprenticed to a grocer and wine-merchant at Perth. In 1833 he began to contribute to Johnstone's Magazine (afterwards Tait's Magazine), and in the next year his apprenticeship was cancelled. He visited Edinburgh, and was kindly received there, but obtained no employment. He opened a circulating library at Dundee, and in 1836 he became editor of the Leeds Times
Leeds Times
The Leeds Times was a weekly newspaper published from 1833 to 1901 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, with Robert Nicoll as one of its first editors, and Samuel Smiles as its editor from 1839 to 1848. The first issue was on Thursday 7 March 1833.-References:...
. He was a member of the provisional committee of the Leeds Working Men’s Association, and of the Leeds Radical Association.
He held pronounced Radical
Radicals (UK)
The Radicals were a parliamentary political grouping in the United Kingdom in the early to mid 19th century, who drew on earlier ideas of radicalism and helped to transform the Whigs into the Liberal Party.-Background:...
opinions, and overtaxed his slender physical resources in electioneering work for Sir William Molesworth in the summer of 1837. He was obliged to resign his editorship and died at the house of his friend William Tait
William Tait
William Tait is the name of:*William W. Tait , professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago*William Tait , mayor of Nashville, Tennessee -See also:*Willie Tait, British Royal Air Force officer...
, at Trinity, near Edinburgh.
He had published a volume of Poems in 1835; and in 1844 appeared a further volume, Poems and Lyrics, with an anonymous memoir of the author by Mrs C I Johnstone. The best of his lyrics are those written in the Scottish dialect. They are simple in feeling and expression, genuine folksongs.
An eloquent appreciation of his character and his poetry was included in Charles Kingsley's article on Burns and his School in the North British Review for November 1851. See also P R Drummond, Life of Robert Nicholl, Poet (1884).
Robert Nicoll is buried in the North Leith Parish Churchyard.