William Patteson Nicholson (3 April 1876 – 29 October 1959) was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

preacher and

evangelist Evangelist may refer to: Religion * Four Evangelists, the authors of the canonical Christian Gospels * Evangelism, publicly preaching the Gospel with the intention of spreading the teachings of Jesus Christ * Evangelist (Anglican Church), a c ...

born in Bangor, County Down,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. Nicknamed "the Tornado of the Pulpit",W.P. Nicholson
/ref> Nicholson spent his early years on his father's cargo ship. He began to preach

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

in 1899 at the age of 23 and was known for his "men-only" meetings. Nicholson used straightforward language which communicated to the common man. In the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

shipyard of Harland & Wolff, a shed, named "the Nicholson shed", was erected to house stolen tools that newly

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

workers were returning as a result of Nicholson's preaching.

Works

* ''Goodbye God: Twelve Stirring Messages'' (Stanley Barnes, 1998)

Bibliography

*Barnes, Stanley ''All for Jesus: The Life of W.P. Nicholson'', Ambassador Intl, 1996, *Murray, S W ''W P Nicholson: Flame for God in Ulster'', Presbyterian Fellowship, Belfast, 1973 *Ravenhill, Leonar
''Billy Nicholson - The Irish Whitefield''

References

1876 births Irish Presbyterians Irish Pentecostals Irish evangelicals Irish Protestant religious leaders 1959 deaths Hellfire preachers People from Bangor, County Down {{NorthernIreland-bio-stub