Nixon was nominated by President Ulysses Grant on April 28, 1870, to a seat vacated by Richard S. Field.

Born on August 31, 1820, in Fairton, New Jersey,[1] Nixon attended the public schools, graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1841 and received an Artium Magister degree from the same institution in 1843.

[1] Nixon was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant on April 28, 1870, to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey vacated by Judge Richard Stockton Field.

[1] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on April 28, 1870,[Note 1][3] and received his commission the same day.

[1] His service terminated on September 28, 1889, due to his death at his summer home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.