George Ward Nichols

alt=An illustration to the article Wild Bill by George Ward Nichols (Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, February, 1867). An illustration to the article Wild Bill by George Ward Nichols (Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, February, 1867). George Ward Nichols (June 21, 1831 - September 15, 1885) was an American journalist known as the creator of the legend of Wild Bill Hickok.

Nichols was born on June 21, 1831, in Tremont, Maine. During American Civil War he served under General John C. Fremont and General William Sherman. He wrote The Story of the Great March (1865). The book was translated on several languages.

In September 1865 Nichols arrived in Springfield, Missouri, where he met James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok. The article Wild Bill by Nichols appeared in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine in February 1867. The publication immortalized Wild Bill. Kansas newspapers criticized Nichols for exaggerated exploits of the gunfighter.

Later Nichols moved to Cincinnati, where he became helped found and became the president of the College of Music of Cincinnati in 1878.

From 1868 until his death he was married to Maria Longworth Nichols Storer The couple had two children: Joseph and Margaret, wife of French politician Pierre de Chambrun. Nichols died from tuberculosis on September 15, 1885.

Works The Story of the Great March: From the Diary of a Staff Officer (1865). The Sanctuary: A Story of the Civil War (1866). Art Education Applied to Industry (1877). Pottery; How it is Made, Its Shape and Decoration (1878). The Cincinnati Organ: With a Brief Description of the Cincinnati Music Hall (1878).