Mr St J. Nixon Dead

Press, Issue 32345, 10 July 1970, Page 17

Mr St J. Nixon Dead

One of the pioneers of British motoring writing, Mr St John Nixon, died on June 7 at the age of 84. His death, while on holiday in Germany, came soon after his commemorative re-run of the 1900 Automobile Club 1000mile Trial from London to Edinburgh and back. Mr Nixon rode as a boy of 14 on the original trial in a Napier. In the commemoration run he drove a 14 h.p. Wolseley, which participated in the original event, over the same route to the original schedule. Apart from magazine articles, Mr Nixon was a prolific writer on the early years of the automobile. His published works include, “The Invention of the Automobile,” “The Antique Automobile,” and histories of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, as well as of Daimler, Wolseley and Simms.

A fluent speaker of German, Mr Nixon was an authority on the formative years of Mercedes, Daimler and Benz. He was partauthor of “Three Pointed Star,” a joint history of the three German companies. Mr Nixon was deputy chairman of Britain’s Guild of Motoring Writers in 1957, and chairman in 1958. He was also one of the eight life members of the guild.