Donald W. Nicholson

Who was Donald W. Nicholson?

Donald William Nicholson was a 20th-century American politician from the state of Massachusetts. Born in Wareham, Massachusetts, he attended the public schools and took college extension courses. He first worked as a salesman, then during the First World War served overseas in the United States Army from 1917 to 1919. Returning to Massachusetts, he entered politics and served as selectman, assessor, and overseer of the poor in Wareham, 1920-1925. He served as a delegate to all Republican state conventions from 1924 to 1947; served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1925 and 1926; as a member of the Massachusetts Senate from 1926 to 1947, and as president of the state senate in 1946 and 1947. He was elected as a Republican to the Eightieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Charles L. Gifford, and reelected to the five succeeding Congresses. He retired to his home in Wareham, remaining there until his death on February 16, 1968; he is buried in Center Cemetery.

In 1964 a bridge in Wareham was named after Nicholson.