USS Nicholson (Destroyer No. 52/DD-52) was an built for the United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 before the American entry into World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. The ship was the second U.S. Navy vessel named in honor of five members of the Nicholson family who gave distinguished service in the American Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, and the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

: brothers James

James Nicholson (naval officer)

James Nicholson was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War.The son of Joseph and Hannah Scott Nicholson, he was born in Chestertown, Maryland. James Nicholson served in the colonial Navy with the British in the assault on Havana in 1762, and was commissioned...

, Samuel

Samuel Nicholson

Samuel Nicholson was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later in the United States Navy. -Early life:...

, and John Nicholson

John Nicholson (naval officer)

John Nicholson was an officer in the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War.The son of Joseph and Hannah Scott Nicholson, he was born in Chestertown, Maryland. John Nicholson entered the Continental Navy as Lieutenant in October 1776 and the next month was promoted to Captain to...

; William Nicholson

William Nicholson (naval officer)

William Carmichael Nicholson was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 and the Civil War.A native of Maryland, Nicholson was the son of naval officer John Nicholson...

, son of John; and James W. Nicholson

James W. Nicholson

Rear Admiral James William Augustus Nicholson was an officer in the United States Navy during the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.-Biography:...

, grandson of Samuel.

Nicholson was laid down by William Cramp and Sons

William Cramp and Sons

thumb | upright | 1899 advertisement for William Cramp & Sons William Cramp & Sons Shipbuilding Company of Philadelphia was founded in 1825 by William Cramp, and was the preeminent U.S. iron shipbuilder in the 19th century. The American Ship & Commerce Corporation bought the yard in 1919 but closed...

 of Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

 in September 1913 and launched in August 1914.