George Gurney Mather Nicol (1856-1888) was a Sierra Leonean clergyman. He was the first African from a British colony to be educated at Cambridge University.

Life

George Gurney Mather Nicol was born into an elite Sierra Leone Creole family: he was a grandson of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, and the son of the mathematics teacher and clergyman George Croley Nicol. Born on 22 February 1856 at Freetown, he was educated in England, at

Monkton Combe School (Thy Word is Truth) , established = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , founder = The Revd Francis Pocock , head_label = Head Master , head ...

and

Sydney College, Bath The Holburne Museum (formerly known as the Holburne of Menstrie Museum and the Holburne Museum of Art) is located in Sydney Pleasure Gardens, Bath, Somerset, Bath, Somerset, England. The city's first public art gallery, the Grade I listed build ...

. In 1879 he graduated BA from

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

. He went on to the Church Missionary Society College, Islington and was ordained in 1883. After graduation, Nicol returned to Sierra Leone. Like his father, he taught mathematics at Fourah Bay College, and became a Colonial Chaplain. Ordained deacon in 1883, he became a curate at Church of the Holy Trinity, Freetown. In 1885 he was ordained priest, and became Pastor of Sherbro Island. He died on 15 August 1888.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, George Gurney 1856 births 1888 deaths Sierra Leone Creole people Sierra Leonean Christian clergy Sierra Leonean Anglicans People educated at Monkton Combe School Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge