Malcolm Edwin Nichols (May 8, 1876 – February 7, 1951) was a journalist and a

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. Nichols served as the

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in the late 1920s. He came from a

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family and was the most recent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to serve in that post.

Early years

Nichols was the son of Edwin T. Nichols and Helen J. G. (Pingree) Nichols. He was married on December 16, 1915, to Edith M. Williams (died 1925). They had three children, sons Clark S. and Dexter, and daughter Marjorie. In 1926 he married Edith's twin sister Carrie Marjorie Williams. His son Clark acted as his best man and his son Dexter acted as the ring bearer.

Career

Journalism

Nichols was the Massachusetts State House reporter for '' The Boston Traveler'', covering both houses of the legislature, and later a political reporter for ''

The Boston Post ''The Boston Post'' was a daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The ''Post'' was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G. Greene and William Beals. Edwin Grozier bough ...

''.

Public service

In addition to his newspaper work, Nichols was a lawyer and Port Collector of Internal Revenue. He was a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

, 1907–09, representing Ward 10 of Boston (the

Back Bay Back Bay is an officially recognized neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, built on reclaimed land in the Charles River basin. Construction began in 1859, as the demand for luxury housing exceeded the availability in the city at the time, and t ...

), where he was a member and clerk of the House Committee on Metropolitan affairs. He was a member of the

Massachusetts Senate The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...

, 1914, 1917–19, and was elected Mayor of Boston in November 1925, serving in office from 1926 to 1930. He was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor in

November 1933 The following events occurred in November 1933: November 1, 1933 (Wednesday) *The regulations for Germany's Dachau concentration camp were put into effect by its commander, Theodor Eicke, and used as a blueprint for other camps. Under Article ...

, November 1937, and November 1941.

Personal life

Nichols was a

Swedenborgian The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) is any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed as a new religious group, influenced by the writings of scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). Swedenborgian or ...

and of English ancestry. He was a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...

, and

Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE; also often known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks) is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City. History The Elks began in 1868 as a soci ...

. Nichols died of a heart attack, in

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a neighborhood of in the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of the former Town of Roxbury, now also a part of the City of Boston. The commun ...

, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, on February 7, 1951. He was interred in Forest Hills Cemetery in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston.

References

Bibliography

*''Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court'' by the Secretary of the Commonwealth (1918) p. 554. *''Who's who in State Politics, 1908'' Practical Politics (1908) p. 265.

External links

Malcolm E. Nichols entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

Nichols election records
at ourcampaigns.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Malcolm 1876 births 1950 deaths American political journalists American Swedenborgians Harvard College alumni Republican Party Massachusetts state senators Mayors of Boston Republican Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Portland, Maine Writers from Portland, Maine The Boston Post people