Davidson Sylvester Hector Willoughby Nicol (14 September 1924 – 20 September 1994), also known by his pen name Abioseh Nicol, was a

Sierra Leone Creole The Sierra Leone Creole people () are an ethnic group of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Creole people are lineal descendant, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean, and Sierra Leone Liberated African, Liberated African slaves who ...

physician, diplomat, and writer. Nicol contributed significantly to diabetes research from his discoveries in his analysis of the breakdown of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

in the human body. He was able to secure degrees in the arts, science and commercial disciplines and he contributed to science, history, and literature. Nicol was the first

black African Black is a racial classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and ofte ...

to graduate with

first-class honours The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure used for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied, sometimes with significant var ...

from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

and he was also the first black African elected as a fellow of a college of Cambridge University.

Early life

Nicol was born as Davidson Sylvester Hector Willoughby Nicol on 14 September 1924 in

Bathurst, Sierra Leone Bathurst is a mountainous village in the Western Area Rural District of Sierra Leone. Bathurst seats at 541 feet above sea level, and lies approximately six miles west of Freetown. The major industry in Bathurst village is farming, small scale co ...

, to Jonathan Josibiah Nicol and Winifred Clarissa Regina Willoughby. He taught at the Prince of Wales School in

Freetown Freetown () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, e ...

, the capital city of Sierra Leone, and studied on a scholarship at Christ's College, Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, graduating with a BA degree in

natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer ...

in 1947. He was the first black African to graduate with

. He earned a medical degree from

London Hospital Medical College The London Hospital Medical College was a medical school, medical and later dental school based at the London Hospital (later Royal London Hospital) in Whitechapel, London. Founded in 1785, it was the first purpose-built medical college in Englan ...

, now part o

On 11 August 1950, he married Marjorie Johnston of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

. Nicol had five children. In the early 1950s, he taught at the

Ibadan University The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

medical school, researching topical malnutrition, before returning to Cambridge in 1954. In 1957, he was named the first black African

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of a Christ's College, and went to the college to research insulin under famed scientist

Frederick Sanger Frederick Sanger (; 13 August 1918 – 19 November 2013) was a British biochemist who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice. He won the 1958 Chemistry Prize for determining the amino acid sequence of insulin and numerous other prote ...

. Nicol published two works on the topic, ''The Mechanism of Action of Insulin'' and ''The Structure of Human Insulin'', both in 1960. He had returned to Freetown in 1958, and was working for the Sierra Leonean government as a

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

Academia

Beginning in 1960, Nicol was the first native principal of

Fourah Bay College Fourah Bay College is a public university in the neighbourhood of Mount Aureol in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Founded on 18 February 1827, it is the first western-style university built in Sub-Saharan Africa and, furthermore, the first university-le ...

in Freetown for eight years. While principal of the college, he led a large expansion programme. Nicol was a member Public Service Commission until 1968. Nicol continued his administrative career at the university level in Sierra Leone as first the chairman (1964–68) then as

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

at the

University of Sierra Leone The University of Sierra Leone is the name of the former unitary public university system in Sierra Leone. Established in February 1827, it is the oldest university in Africa. As of May 2005, the University of Sierra Leone was reconstituted into ...

(1966–68)."Davidson Nicol"
Encyclopædia Britannica. In 1964, he was appointed a CMG.

Diplomacy

Nicol left academia in 1968 to become the permanent representative of Sierra Leone to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

(UN), in which role he served until 1971. That year, he became Sierra Leone's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, which posting ended in 1972. From 1972 until 1982, Nicol served as the

Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations An under-secretary-general of the United Nations (USG) is a senior official within the United Nations System, normally appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the secretary-general for a renewable term of four years. Under ...

under Austrian

Kurt Waldheim Kurt Josef Waldheim (21 December 1918 – 14 June 2007) was an Austrian politician and diplomat. Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the United Nations#List of secretaries-general, secretary-general of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981 a ...

. While holding this post, Nicol additionally served as head of the

United Nations Institute for Training and Research The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations system. UNITAR provides training and capacity development activities to assist mainly developing countries with special attention ...

(UNITAR). He was also at one point ambassador of Sierra Leone to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. He was

President of the United Nations Security Council The presidency of the United Nations Security Council is responsible for leading the United Nations Security Council. It rotates among the fifteen member-states of the council monthly. The head of the country's delegation is known as the president ...

in September 1970.

Return to academia and retirement

He maintained a home for many years in Thornton Road, Cambridge, England, frequently visiting Christ's College, of which he had been made a distinguished Honorary Fellow, meanwhile serving from 1987 until retiring in 1991 as a visiting professor of

international studies International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

(1987–88) and

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

(1990–91). Nicol retired in 1991 at the age of 67 to Cambridge, where he died on 20 September 1994 at the age of 70. He was president of the

World Federation of United Nations Associations The World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) (French: ''Fédération Mondiale des Associations pour les Nations Unies'', FMANU) was founded in 1946 as a Federation of national associations. Its objectives are to promote the values ...

from 1983 to 1987.

Nicol's writings

Beginning in 1965 with ''Two African Tales'', Nicol was a published author of short stories, as well as poetry, music, academic literature and a biography of Africanus Horton, an early Sierra Leonean author and one of the founders of

African nationalism African nationalism is an umbrella term which refers to a group of political ideologies in sub-Saharan Africa, which are based on the idea of national self-determination and the creation of nation states.

Selected bibliography

* ''Africa, A Subjective View'', 1964 * ''Two African Tales'', 1965 * ''The Truly Married Woman, and Other Stories'', 1965 * ''Creative Women'', 1982

Sources

Abioseh Nicol
on the Literary Encyclopedia
The Papers of Davidson Nicol
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, Abioseh 1924 births 1994 deaths 20th-century male writers 20th-century Sierra Leonean physicians 20th-century Sierra Leonean poets Academic staff of Fourah Bay College Academic staff of the University of Ibadan Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Alumni of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital Fellows of Christ's College, Cambridge High commissioners of Sierra Leone to the United Kingdom Ambassadors of Sierra Leone to Norway Ambassadors of Sierra Leone to Denmark Ambassadors of Sierra Leone to Sweden People from Freetown Permanent representatives of Sierra Leone to the United Nations Sierra Leone Creole people Sierra Leonean diplomats Sierra Leonean expatriates in Nigeria Sierra Leonean male poets Sierra Leonean physicians Companions_of_the_Order_of_St_Michael_and_St_George