Samuel Caldwell Nicholson (died 1891) was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 trade unionist.

Nicholson was a compositor who became the Treasurer of the Manchester Typographical Society. In 1864, he was elected the first President of the Manchester and Salford Trades Council. After hearing from William Dronfield

William Dronfield

William Dronfield was a British trade unionist.Born in Sheffield, Dronfield became a compositor. In 1849, he was a founder member of the Provincial Typographical Association, and from 1852 to 1855 served as its President....

, Secretary of the Sheffield Typographical Society, of the lack of interest in trade union matters at the Congress of the National Association for the Promotion of Social Science, Nicholson proposed forming a Trades Union Congress

Trades Union Congress

The Trades Union Congress is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in the United Kingdom, representing the majority of trade unions...

 (TUC).

Nicholson was also General Secretary of the Annual Moveable Delegation of the Order of Druids, and this event clashed with the first TUC conference, so he was unable to attend.