GEOLOGIST
William Nicol
1770 - 1851

William Nicol
William Nicol FRSE FCS (1768? – 2 September 1851) was a Scottish geologist and physicist who invented the Nicol prism, the first device for obtaining plane-polarized light, in 1828. Read more on Wikipedia
His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. William Nicol is the 51st most popular geologist (up from 66th in 2019), the 3,507th most popular biography from United Kingdom (up from 4,197th in 2019) and the 10th most popular British Geologist.
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Among GEOLOGISTS
Among geologists, William Nicol ranks 51 out of 90. Before him are Lawrence Lambe, Alfred Lacroix, Henryk Arctowski, Carl Friedrich Schmidt, Niles Eldredge, and Marcel Alexandre Bertrand. After him are Julius von Haast, Luigi Palmieri, John Phillips, Gerard De Geer, Paul Niggli, and Archibald Geikie.
Most Popular Geologists in Wikipedia
Go to all RankingsLawrence Lambe
1863 - 1919
HPI: 58.13
Rank: 45
Alfred Lacroix
1863 - 1948
HPI: 57.96
Rank: 46
Henryk Arctowski
1871 - 1958
HPI: 57.60
Rank: 47
Carl Friedrich Schmidt
1832 - 1908
HPI: 57.56
Rank: 48
Niles Eldredge
1943 - Present
HPI: 57.39
Rank: 49
Marcel Alexandre Bertrand
1847 - 1907
HPI: 57.31
Rank: 50
William Nicol
1770 - 1851
HPI: 56.94
Rank: 51
Julius von Haast
1822 - 1887
HPI: 56.83
Rank: 52
Luigi Palmieri
1807 - 1896
HPI: 56.73
Rank: 53
John Phillips
1800 - 1874
HPI: 56.71
Rank: 54
Gerard De Geer
1858 - 1943
HPI: 56.66
Rank: 55
Paul Niggli
1888 - 1953
HPI: 56.60
Rank: 56
Archibald Geikie
1835 - 1924
HPI: 56.59
Rank: 57
Contemporaries
Among people born in 1770, William Nicol ranks 40. Before him are Étienne Pivert de Senancour, Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy, Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor, Georges Mouton, William Huskisson, and Princess Louise of Orange-Nassau. After him are Albrecht Berblinger, James Hogg, Thomas Phillips, and David Thompson. Among people deceased in 1851, William Nicol ranks 42. Before him are Ramón Freire, Manuel Gómez Pedraza, Esteban Echeverría, Carl Friedrich von Ledebour, Leopold II, Prince of Lippe, and Dawud Pasha of Baghdad. After him are Andrés Quintana Roo, Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Giovanni Berchet, Mizuno Tadakuni, Joel Roberts Poinsett, and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet.
Others Born in 1770
Go to all RankingsÉtienne Pivert de Senancour
WRITER
1770 - 1846
HPI: 59.88
Rank: 34
Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1770 - 1857
HPI: 58.81
Rank: 35
Gabriel Jean Joseph Molitor
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1770 - 1849
HPI: 58.54
Rank: 36
Georges Mouton
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1770 - 1838
HPI: 58.02
Rank: 37
William Huskisson
POLITICIAN
1770 - 1830
HPI: 57.62
Rank: 38
Princess Louise of Orange-Nassau
NOBLEMAN
1770 - 1819
HPI: 57.24
Rank: 39
William Nicol
GEOLOGIST
1770 - 1851
HPI: 56.94
Rank: 40
Albrecht Berblinger
INVENTOR
1770 - 1829
HPI: 55.05
Rank: 41
James Hogg
WRITER
1770 - 1835
HPI: 53.12
Rank: 42
Thomas Phillips
PAINTER
1770 - 1845
HPI: 52.85
Rank: 43
David Thompson
EXPLORER
1770 - 1857
HPI: 51.11
Rank: 44
Others Deceased in 1851
Go to all RankingsRamón Freire
POLITICIAN
1787 - 1851
HPI: 59.43
Rank: 36
Manuel Gómez Pedraza
POLITICIAN
1789 - 1851
HPI: 59.13
Rank: 37
Esteban Echeverría
WRITER
1805 - 1851
HPI: 58.76
Rank: 38
Carl Friedrich von Ledebour
BIOLOGIST
1786 - 1851
HPI: 58.59
Rank: 39
Leopold II, Prince of Lippe
POLITICIAN
1796 - 1851
HPI: 57.77
Rank: 40
Dawud Pasha of Baghdad
POLITICIAN
1774 - 1851
HPI: 57.60
Rank: 41
William Nicol
GEOLOGIST
1770 - 1851
HPI: 56.94
Rank: 42
Andrés Quintana Roo
POLITICIAN
1787 - 1851
HPI: 56.81
Rank: 43
Karl Freiherr von Müffling
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1775 - 1851
HPI: 56.58
Rank: 44
Giovanni Berchet
WRITER
1783 - 1851
HPI: 55.73
Rank: 45
Mizuno Tadakuni
MILITARY PERSONNEL
1794 - 1851
HPI: 55.60
Rank: 46
Joel Roberts Poinsett
PHYSICIAN
1779 - 1851
HPI: 54.69
Rank: 47
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet
PHILOSOPHER
1787 - 1851
HPI: 54.37
Rank: 48
In United Kingdom
Among people born in United Kingdom, William Nicol ranks 3,508 out of 8,785. Before him are Roger Rees (1944), Frederick W. Lanchester (1868), Henry Edward Manning (1808), Jon Pertwee (1919), Jeremy Northam (1961), and Samson of Dol (490). After him are Alex Kingston (1963), Grace Elliott (1754), Trevor Francis (1954), John Scott Haldane (1860), Ol Parker (1969), and Edward Woodward (1930).
Others born in United Kingdom
Go to all RankingsRoger Rees
ACTOR
1944 - 2015
HPI: 56.96
Rank: 3,502
Frederick W. Lanchester
ENGINEER
1868 - 1946
HPI: 56.95
Rank: 3,503
Henry Edward Manning
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
1808 - 1892
HPI: 56.95
Rank: 3,504
Jon Pertwee
ACTOR
1919 - 1996
HPI: 56.95
Rank: 3,505
Jeremy Northam
ACTOR
1961 - Present
HPI: 56.94
Rank: 3,506
Samson of Dol
RELIGIOUS FIGURE
490 - 565
HPI: 56.94
Rank: 3,507
William Nicol
GEOLOGIST
1770 - 1851
HPI: 56.94
Rank: 3,508
Alex Kingston
ACTOR
1963 - Present
HPI: 56.93
Rank: 3,509
Grace Elliott
WRITER
1754 - 1823
HPI: 56.93
Rank: 3,510
Trevor Francis
SOCCER PLAYER
1954 - 2023
HPI: 56.93
Rank: 3,511
John Scott Haldane
PHILOSOPHER
1860 - 1936
HPI: 56.93
Rank: 3,512
Ol Parker
FILM DIRECTOR
1969 - Present
HPI: 56.92
Rank: 3,513
Edward Woodward
ACTOR
1930 - 2009
HPI: 56.92
Rank: 3,514
Among GEOLOGISTS In United Kingdom
Among geologists born in United Kingdom, William Nicol ranks 10. Before him are Eduard Suess (1831), Gideon Mantell (1790), William Smith (1769), Adam Sedgwick (1785), William Buckland (1784), and Arthur Holmes (1890). After him are John Phillips (1800), Archibald Geikie (1835), Henry Clifton Sorby (1826), Charles Lapworth (1842), Joseph Thomson (1858), and Robert Jameson (1774).
Eduard Suess
1831 - 1914
HPI: 70.69
Rank: 4
Gideon Mantell
1790 - 1852
HPI: 65.77
Rank: 5
William Smith
1769 - 1839
HPI: 65.26
Rank: 6
Adam Sedgwick
1785 - 1873
HPI: 65.25
Rank: 7
William Buckland
1784 - 1856
HPI: 62.13
Rank: 8
Arthur Holmes
1890 - 1965
HPI: 60.40
Rank: 9
William Nicol
1770 - 1851
HPI: 56.94
Rank: 10
John Phillips
1800 - 1874
HPI: 56.71
Rank: 11
Archibald Geikie
1835 - 1924
HPI: 56.59
Rank: 12
Henry Clifton Sorby
1826 - 1908
HPI: 55.76
Rank: 13
Charles Lapworth
1842 - 1920
HPI: 54.70
Rank: 14
Joseph Thomson
1858 - 1895
HPI: 54.00
Rank: 15
Robert Jameson
1774 - 1854
HPI: 52.10
Rank: 16