Colorado Historical Society

NICHOLSON, Samuel Danford, a Senator from Colorado; born in Springfield, Prince Edward Island, Canada, February 22, 1859; attended the public schools; moved to Michigan, then to Nebraska, and later, in 1881, to Leadville, Colo.; became interested in mining, advancing from miner to foreman, superintendent, manager, and president of the Western Mining Company; discovered the zinc ore which bears his name, “Nicholsonite”; Populist mayor of Leadville 1893-1897; moved to Denver in 1902; unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1914 and 1916; during the First World War served as State chairman of the Liberty and Victory loan campaigns; member, United States Fuel Administration; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1921, until his death in Denver, Colo., March 24, 1923; interment in Fairmount Cemetery.