CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Nicholas Fraser

paleontologist

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 5, 2026
Entity authorityQ22087176 ↗
Source-derived summary

Nicholas Campbell Fraser (born 14 January 1956), known as Nicholas C. Fraser, is a British palaeontologist, academic, and museum curator. He specialises in the Triassic period and vertebrate palaeontology. Since 2007, he has been Keeper of Natural Sciences at the National Museums Scotland. He has been adjunct professor of geology at Virginia Tech since 1993 and at North Carolina State University since 2007.

Early life

Fraser was born on 14 January 1956 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, to Hugh and Patricia Fraser. He studied zoology at the University of Aberdeen, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1978. He remained at Aberdeen to undertake postgraduate research in geology, and completed his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1984.

Career

Fraser began his career as an academic, and was a research fellow of Girton College, Cambridge between 1985 and 1990. He maintains his link to academia through a number of visiting positions: since 1993, he has been adjunct professor of geology at Virginia Tech; since 2007, he has also been Adjunct Professor of Geology at North Carolina State University.

In 1990, Fraser moved to the United States where he joined the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH).

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Nicholas Fraser” as paleontologist. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Nicholas, Fraser and paleontologist.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1956, 2007, 1993, 1978—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1956-01-14, 2000—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Nicholas, Fraser and paleontologist providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Nicholas Fraser”, the useful work is to connect “paleontologist” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q22087176. VIAF identifies the subject as 5027649. The Library of Congress control number is n93049720. None of the 5 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1956, 2007, 1993 and 1978.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Nicholas Fraser”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Nicholas Fraser primary sources, Nicholas Fraser archive and Nicholas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Nicholas Fraser”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Nicholas Fraser” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.