[1] The son of a Canadian consulting engineer, Nicolson was born in London and educated at Haileybury but was forced to leave it when his father went blind and lost his income.
In the early 1950s Nicolson went to the United States, working as a production manager for Bucyrus-Erie Co. in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which had employed his father.
He was appointed chairman of the British Airways Board in 1971 after being recruited by John Davies, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the government led by Edward Heath.
Nicolson had no previous experience of the airline industry and also felt that the Aerospace Minister Michael Heseltine interfered with his work.
However, dealing directly with European Commission processes left him increasingly disillusioned by the bureaucracy involved and he did not seek re-election when the term ended in 1984.