David Hopkinson Nichols (March 16, 1826 – December 17, 1900) was the eighth Lieutenant Governor of Colorado, United States, serving from 1893 to 1895 under Davis Hanson Waite. Nichols was born in

Hardwick, Vermont Hardwick is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,920 at the 2020 census. It contains the unincorporated villages of Hardwick, East Hardwick, and Mackville. The town is a commercial center for the region's fa ...

in 1826. He served in the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

and later moved to

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, living there beginning in 1859. He was elected

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

in 1863, but absented himself from office in order to take a captain's commission with the Third Colorado Volunteer Cavalry, called upon by Territorial Governor John Evans in 1864 to suppress Indian uprisings. In his capacity as Captain of Company D, Nichols participated in the infamous Sand Creek Massacre on November 29, 1864. Following his return to Boulder, Nichols was elected to the territorial Legislature and gave up his position as Sheriff. He served two non-consecutive terms in the Legislature. A member of Columbia Lodge #14 he and his masonic brothers were instrumental in bringing the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

to Boulder. Nichols served as lieutenant governor of Colorado from 1893 to 1895 and was a member of the Board of Commissioners for the

Colorado State Penitentiary Colorado State Penitentiary (commonly abbreviated CSP) is a Level V maximum security prison in the U.S. state of Colorado. The facility is part of the state's East Cañon Complex, together with six other state correctional facilities of various ...

for 19 years. Nichols died at his home near

on the night of December 17, 1900.

References

* ''Obituary Notes'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', December 18, 1900, Page 9. American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Lieutenant Governors of Colorado Colorado sheriffs People's Party (United States) elected officials Colorado Populists Politicians from Boulder, Colorado People from Caledonia County, Vermont 1826 births 1900 deaths {{US-mil-hist-stub

See also

References