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

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...

and

evangelist Evangelist(s) 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 ...

born in

Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to whic ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Biography

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, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

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 ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

shipyard of

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

, a shed, named "the Nicholson shed", was erected to house stolen tools that newly converted 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