Donald Nicoll

Donald Nicoll (25 April 1820 – 6 September 1891) was a British Liberal and Radical politician, businessman, inventor and author.

Inventions Born in 1820, Nicoll started his career in trade, becoming the owner of sanitary works, as well as an inventor and maker of patented appliances for the interception and deodorization of sewage, and the filtration of water. Further, he developed improvements to fire escapes, fog signals for vessels, and electric and telegraph conductors. However, standing as a Liberal in 1859, Nicoll was unseated by Thynne with a 34.8% swing against the Liberals.

Works Nicoll was also the author of a number of books and pamphlets, including: He was appointed Commissioner for the City of London to the 1867 Paris Exhibition, receiving a medal and an honourable mention for an exhibit showing the properties of bitumen as an insulating material. The 1872 Moscow Exhibition and 1873 Vienna Exhibition also awarded him medals.

He also served as a Justice of the Peace for Middlesex and Westminster, chairman of the Poor Law Amendment Society, and a life governor of many London charitable institutions. He was a member of each of the Society of Arts, the Inventors' Institute, the Spectacle-makers' Company, and the united Grand Lodge of Freemasons. In 1884, he was elected an Associate of the Institution.