Arthur Nicolson, 1st Baron Carnock, (19 September 1849 – 5 November 1928), known as Sir Arthur Nicolson, 11th Baronet, from 1899 to 1916, was a British diplomat and politician during the last quarter of the 19th century to the middle of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Early life

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, he was the eldest son of Admiral Sir Frederick Nicolson, 10th Baronet by his wife Mary Loch. Educated at Rugby and

Brasenose College Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, where he left without taking a degree, he succeeded his father as

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1899.CARNOCK, Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007

Career

From 1870 to 1874, he worked in the Foreign Office, during which time he was author of the ''History of the German Constitution'' (1873). From 1872 to 1874, he was secretary to

Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville Granville George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville (11 May 1815 – 31 March 1891), styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman and diplomat from the Leveson-Gower family. He is best remembered for his service as Secret ...

, followed by secretary of the Embassy at

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(from 1874 to 1876) and secretary of the Embassy at

Peking Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...

(1876–1878). From 1879 to 1881, he was Secretary to the Ambassador at the Embassy at Constantinople. He was promoted to

Chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

in Athens, where he served from 1884 to 1885, before becoming Chargé in

Teheran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District. With a population of around 9.8 million in the city as of 2025, ...

from 1885 to 1888. Beginning in 1888, and continuing until 1893, he was Consul-General in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. He was stationed with the Embassy in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in 1894 before becoming the British Minister at Tangiers from 1895 to 1904. In 1904, he was appointed the

British Ambassador to Spain The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Spain is the United Kingdom's foremost Diplomat, diplomatic representative in the Kingdom of Spain, and in charge of the UK's diplomatic mission in Spain. The official title is His Britannic Majesty's Am ...

in Madrid, serving until 1905. From 1906 to 1910, he was the British Ambassador to Russia in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, followed by the Permanent Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 1910 to 1916. On 27 June 1916, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Carnock of

Carnock Carnock () is a village and parish of Fife, Scotland, west of Dunfermline. It is east of Oakley, Fife. The name of the village derives from Scottish Gaelic, from ''ceàrn'' ("corner"), with a suffix denoting a toponym, thus giving " hecorne ...

in the

County of Stirling Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshire to the north, Cl ...

Personal life

In 1882, Nicolson was married to Mary Katherine Hamilton, daughter of Capt. Archibald Rowan Hamilton, of Killyleagh Castle, Co. Down, and a descendant of

Archibald Hamilton Rowan Archibald Hamilton Rowan (1 May 1751 – 1 November 1834), christened Archibald Hamilton (sometimes referred to as Archibald Rowan Hamilton), was a founding member of the Dublin Society of United Irishmen, a political exile in France and the Uni ...

. Together, they had three sons and a daughter: * Frederick Archibald Nicolson (1883–1952), who succeeded him as 2nd Baron Carnock and died unmarried. * Erskine Nicolson (1884–1982), who became the 3rd Baron Carnock. He married Hon. Katharine Frederica Albertha Lopes (1892–1968), the eldest daughter of Henry Lopes, 1st Baron Roborough. * Sir

Harold Nicolson Sir Harold George Nicolson (21 November 1886 – 1 May 1968) was a British politician, writer, broadcaster and gardener. His wife was Vita Sackville-West. Early life and education Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the youngest son of dipl ...

(1886–1968), the writer and husband of

Vita Sackville-West Victoria Mary, Lady Nicolson, Order of the Companions of Honour, CH (née Sackville-West; 9 March 1892 – 2 June 1962), usually known as Vita Sackville-West, was an English author and garden designer. Sackville-West was a successful nov ...

, daughter of Lionel Sackville-West, 3rd Baron Sackville. * Clementina Gwendolen Catherine Nicolson (1896–1995), who married Francis St Aubyn, 3rd Baron St Levan.

Descendants

Through his second son, he was a grandfather of one girl and two boys, including David Nicolson, 4th Baron Carnock. Through his third son Harold, he was a grandfather of Benedict Nicolson, an art historian, and

Nigel Nicolson Nigel Nicolson (19 January 1917 – 23 September 2004) was an English writer, publisher and politician. Early life and education Nicolson was the second son of writers Sir Harold Nicolson and Vita Sackville-West; he had an elder brother Bene ...

, a politician and writer. Through his daughter, he was a grandfather of John St Aubyn, 4th Baron St Levan and the Hon. Oliver Piers St Aubyn (father of the 5th

Baron St Levan Baron St Levan, of St Michael's Mount in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 4 July 1887 for the former Member of Parliament Sir John St Aubyn, 2nd Baronet, becoming John St Aubyn, 1st B ...

Honours

* CMG:

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

– ''1886'' * KCIE: Knight Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire – ''1888'' * KCB:

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

– ''invested 27 June 1901'', ''gazetted 2 July 1901'' – on the occasion of the visit to the UK of a Special diplomatic mission from Morocco * KCVO:

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the m ...

– ''1903'' * GCVO:

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

– ''1905'' * GCMG: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George – ''1906'' * GCB:

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior military officers or senior civil servants, and the monarch awards it on the advice of His ...

– ''1907''

References

Bibliography

* . *

External links

* * , 1921, by Harold Begbie, at

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital li ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carnock, Arthur Nicolson, 1st Baron 1849 births 1928 deaths Diplomats from London 1

Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

People educated at Rugby School Members of HM Diplomatic Service Diplomatic peers Nicolson, Arthur Nicolson, Arthur Nicolson, Arthur Nicolson, Arthur Nicolson, Arthur Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Barons created by George V 20th-century British diplomats 19th-century British diplomats