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NICHOL 459 NICHOLAS II. summary of articles of belief formulated by the first council of Nice, and the "Fili- oque" clause, to which the Greeks ob- jected, having been added at the First Council of Constantinople, A. D., 381, un- der Pope Damasus I. The creed is re- cited daily in the Roman mass — all present genuflecting at the words "Et homo factus est" — and in the Commun- ion office of the Anglican Church. NICHOL, JOHN, a Scotch writer; born in Montrose, Forfarshire, Scotland, Sept. 8, 1833. He was a Professor of English Literature at the University of Glasgow (1861-1889), who did much to make American books popular in Eng- land. His numerous publications in- clude: "Byron" and "Carlyle" in "Eng- lish Men of Letters" series; "American Literature, 1620-1880" (1882). He was an ardent advocate of the Northern cause during the Civil War, and visited the United States at the close of the con- flict. He died in London, England, Oct. 11, 1894. NICHOLAS, the name of five Popes, as follows: Nicholas I., Pope, elected in succes- sion to Benedict III., in 858. He excom- municated Photius, patriarch of Con- stantinople, whose schism led to the sep- aration of the Roman and Byzantine Churches. He died in Rome, 867. Nicholas IL, Pope; born in Bur- gundy. He became Archbishop of Flor- ence, and succeeded Stephen IX. in 1058. He was opposed by a rival, who styled himself Benedict X.; but being dis- avowed by the council of Satri, the latter was obliged to forego his claim to the papal chair. This Pope assembled a council at Rome, and caused a decree to be passed which was very important in the subsequent elections to the tiara. He was succeeded by Alexander II. He died in 1061. Nicholas III., Pope; born of a noble Italian family. He was elected in suc- cession to John XXL, in 1277. He ob- tained from the emperor, Rudolph of Hapsburg, large grants of Italian terri- tory; among the rest, the exarchate of Ravenna. He dispatched a number of missions to heathen countries. His suc- cessor was Martin IV. He died in 1280. Nicholas IV., Pope; born in Ascoli, Italy. He was elected to the papal chair on the death of Honorius IV., in 1288, being the first member of the Franciscan order to become Pope. He endeavored to excite a new crusade, but without suc- cess. He died in 1292. Nicholas V., Cardinal-Bishop of Bo- logna, became Pope after Eugenius IV., in 1447. He restored peace to the Ro- man and Western Churches, and caused the sovereigns and states of Italy to for- get their feuds. He collected books and manuscripts, and ordered translations to be made of the Greek classics. The Vatican library was practically founded by him, and he embellished Rome with numerous fine edifices. He was an en- lightened and distinguished Pope. He died in 1455. NICHOLAS I. (NIKOLAI PAVLO- VICH), Emperor of Russia, third son of the Emperor Paul I.; born near St. Petersburg, Russia, June 25, 1796 (old style). He ascended the throne in 1825. He made war with Persia in 1827-1828; joined in the treaty of London, which secured the independence of Greece, and made one of the allied powers who de- stroyed the Turkish fleet at Navarino in 1827. This affair led to war between Russia and Turkey, in which the latter was defeated, paid indemnity, and signed the treaty of peace at Adrianople in 1829. He suppressed the Polish insur- rection which broke out in the following year with relentless severity. In 1848 Nicholas assisted Austria with an army corps in putting down the rising in Hungary. Early in 1852 began the Rus- sian effort to take over the holy places and assume the protectorate of the Christians in Palestine. This led to the Crimean War, before the close of which Nicholas died from lung disease in St. Petersburg, Feb. 18, 1855 (old style). NICHOLAS II., Emperor of Russia, son of Alexander III.; born in St. Pe- tersburg, Russia, May 18, 1868. His mother was the Princess Dagmar, a daughter of King Christian IX. of Den- mark. The course of his studies was by his father's wish, directed chiefly to modern history and languages, consti- tutional history, political and social econ- omy, and the law and adminstration of his own country. During the famine of 1891 he was, at his own request, made president of the Committee of Succor, and worked hard in the organization of relief. As czarevitch he held several military commands in his own country — in the famous Preobrajensky regiment among others — and in England he had conferred on him in 1893 the Order of the Garter. He succeeded to the throne Nov. 1, 1894. He married the Princess Alix of Hesse-Darmstadt, grand-daugh- ter of Queen Victoria of England, Nov. 26, 1894. His coronation took place with impressive and elaborate ceremonial at Moscow in May, 1896, and in August of the same year he commenced a tour which included visits to the Emperor of Austria and Germany, to the King of