John George Nicolay (February 26, 1832 – September 26, 1901) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
-born
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
author and diplomat who served as private secretary to U.S. President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
and later co-authored ''
Abraham Lincoln: A History'', a biography of the 16th president. He was a member of the German branch of the
Nicolay family.
Early life
He was born Johann Georg Nicolai in
Essingen,
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...
. In 1838, he immigrated to the United States with his father and attended school in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
.
Career
Nicolay moved to
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, where he edited the ''Pike County Free Press'' at
Pittsfield
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfieldâ ...
, and became a political power in the state. Then he became assistant to the secretary of state of Illinois. While in this position, he met
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
and became his devoted adherent.
In 1861, Lincoln appointed Nicolay as his
private secretary
A private secretary (PS) is a civil servant in a governmental department or ministry, responsible to a secretary of state or minister; or a public servant in a royal household, responsible to a member of the royal family.
The role exists in t ...
, which was the first official act of his new administration. Nicolay served in this capacity until Lincoln's death in 1865. Shortly before his assassination, Lincoln appointed Nicolay to a diplomatic post in France. After the death of the president, Nicolay became United States Consul at
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, France (1865–69). For some time after his return to the United States, he edited the Chicago ''Republican''. He was
marshal of the United States Supreme Court
The Marshal of the United States Supreme Court heads the United States Supreme Court Police, a security police service answerable to the court itself rather than to the president or attorney general. They handle security for the Supreme Court ...
(1872–1887). In 1881, Nicolay wrote ''The Outbreak of the Rebellion''.
Nicolay and
John Hay
John Milton Hay (October 8, 1838July 1, 1905) was an American statesman and official whose career in government stretched over almost half a century. Beginning as a private secretary and assistant to Abraham Lincoln, Hay's highest office was Un ...
, who had worked alongside Nicolay as assistant secretary to Lincoln, collaborated on ''
Abraham Lincoln: A History''. It appeared in ''
The Century Magazine
''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associatio ...
'' serially from 1886 to 1890 and was then issued (1890–94) in book form as ten volumes, together with the two-volume ''Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln''. The resulting biography is a definitive resource on Lincoln and his times. Nicolay and Hay also edited Lincoln's ''Works'' in twelve volumes (1905). Finally, ''Personal Traits of Abraham Lincoln'' was published by Helen Nicolay in 1912.
Historian
Joshua M. Zeitz argues, "Above all, Nicolay and Hay created a master narrative whose influence would ebb and flow over the years but that continues to command serious scrutiny and engagement." Nicolay assured
Robert Todd Lincoln
Robert Todd Lincoln (August 1, 1843 – July 26, 1926) was an American lawyer, businessman, and politician. He was the eldest son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln. Robert Lincoln became a business lawyer and company presid ...
:
:"...we hold that your father was something more than a mere make-weight in the cabinet....We want to show that he formed a cabinet of strong and great men—rarely equaled in any historical era—and that he held, guided, controlled, curbed and dismissed not only them but other high officers civilian and military, at will, with perfect knowledge of men."
Nicolay was a founding member of the
Literary Society of Washington
The Literary Society of Washington was formed in 1874 by a group of friends and associates who wished to meet regularly for "literary and artistic improvement and entertainment". - page 3 For more than 140 years, this literary society has convene ...
in 1874, according to a book about the society written by his daughter, Helen Nicolay. Both Nicolay and Hay were members of long standing in the society.
Death
![Grave of John George Nicolay (1832-1901)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Grave_of_John_George_Nicolay_%281832-1901%29.jpg)
Poor health had forced Nicolay to resign as Marshal of the Supreme Court, and he suffered from a wide range of ailments in his final years. He lived with his daughter, Helen Nicolay, at her home at 212 B Street SE in Washington, D.C. He died at home of unspecified causes on September 26, 1901. He was buried at
Oak Hill Cemetery in the city.
In popular culture
In the TV series "
Carl Sandburg's Lincoln", aired on NBC in 1974-1976, he was portrayed by
Michael Cristofer
Michael Cristofer (born January 22, 1945) is an American actor, playwright and filmmaker. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for ''The Shadow Box'' in 1977. From 2015 to 2019, he played the role of Phillip ...
. In the 1992 documentary ''
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
'', the German-born Nicolay is voiced by the Austrian-born actor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
. In the 1988 NBC mini-series ''Lincoln'' based on
Gore Vidal
Eugene Luther Gore Vidal (; born Eugene Louis Vidal, October 3, 1925 – July 31, 2012) was an American writer and public intellectual known for his epigrammatic wit, erudition, and patrician manner. Vidal was bisexual, and in his novels and ...
's book, Nicolay is portrayed by actor Richard Travis. In the 2012 film ''
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
'', Nicolay is portrayed by
Jeremy Strong. In the 2017 documentary film ''The Gettysburg Address'', Nicolay is portrayed by actor
William Fichtner
William Edward Fichtner (born November 27, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as Sheriff Tom Underlay on ''Invasion'', Alexander Mahone on ''Prison Break'', Carl Hickman on '' Crossing Lines'', and Adam Janikowski o ...
.
Works
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* ''Campaigns of the Civil War'', Volume 1: ''The Outbreak of Rebellion'' (originally published in 1881)
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Mr. Lincoln's White House: John G. NicholayTruman Praises "Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln" by John G. Nicolay and John HayShapell Manuscript Foundation
Mr. Lincoln and Friends: John G. Nicholay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicolay, John George
1832 births
1910 deaths
American biographers
United States presidential advisors
German emigrants to the United States
Secretaries
Personal secretaries to the President of the United States
Lincoln administration personnel
Supreme Court of the United States people
Illinois Republicans
Washington, D.C., Republicans
19th-century American politicians
People from Pittsfield, Illinois
Historians of Abraham Lincoln
Marshals of the United States Supreme Court
Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)