Harold Nicolson

Sir Harold George Nicolson (21 November 1886 – 1 May 1968) was a British politician, diplomat, historian, biographer, diarist, novelist, lecturer, journalist, broadcaster, and gardener. His wife was the writer Vita Sackville-West. Early life and education Nicolson was born in Tehran, Persia, the youngest son of diplomat Arthur Nicolson, 1st Baron Carnock. He spent his boyhood in various places throughout Europe and the Near East and followed his father's frequent postings, including in St. Petersburg, Constantinople, Madrid, Sofia, and Tangier. He was educated at The Grange School in Folkestone, Kent, followed by Wellington College. He attended Balliol College, Oxford, graduating in 1909 with a third class degree. Nicolson entered the Foreign Office that same year, after passing second in the competitive exams for the Diplomatic Service and Civil Service. Diplomatic career In 1909, Nicolson joined HM Diplomatic Service. He served as attaché at Madrid from February to September 1911 and as Third Secretary at Constantinople from January 1912 to October 1914. In 1913, Nicolson married the novelist Vita Sackville-West. Nicolson and his wife practised what would now be called an open marriage, with both having affairs with others of the same sex.