A native of Shotley Bridge, England, Albert G. Nicholls came to Montréal as a boy. After obtaining his B.A. (1890), M.A. (1893) and M.D. (1894) from McGill, he undertook post-graduate study in Germany and Austria. He received his D.Sc. in 1909, and worked as a pathologist at the Royal Victoria and Montreal General Hospitals. He was Assistant Professor of pathology at McGill from 1904 to 1916, and Assistant Professor of bacteriology from 1908 until 1911. In 1914, he went to Dalhousie University as Professor of pathology and bacteriology, and was appointed Pathologist for Nova Scotia. He returned to Montréal in 1925 and in 1929 became editor of the Canadian Medical Association's Journal. He retired in 1943.