John Paton Nicholson was born on 16 November 1922, the son of Robert H. Nicholson and Beatrice (Paton) Nicholson. Following graduation from West Kent School and Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, he received his law degree from Dalhousie Law School in 1947 and was admitted to the bar of Prince Edward Island on 18 August 1948. He practiced law in Charlottetown from that date until 1970 in association with W.E. Bentley and later as a partner with the firm of Matheson, Peake and Nicholson, later known as Peake and Nicholson. He served as Crown Prosecutor between the years 1949-1959 and 1966- 1970 and acted as defense counsel in criminal cases in the intervening years. On 4 February 1977 he was sworn in as the 15th Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island, a post he held until his death on 24 May 1985. In a professional capacity, he served as President of the PEI Law Society and Provincial Vice-President of the Canadian Bar Association. He was also for many years a Councillor for the City of Charlottetown and chaired many municipal committees as well as acting as Chairman for the Federal Electoral Boundaries Committee and the PEI Law Reform Committee. John P. Nicholson was married to Grace Diamond and had three children, Christopher, Martha and Margaret.