James Nicholson (1737 – 2 September 1804) 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 Captain in the Continental Navy 10 October 1776. He commanded Defense , Trumbull , and Virginia, and when blockaded at Baltimore, Maryland, took his men to join George Washington at Trenton to aid in that key victory.

He died at his home in New York City.

The ships named USS Nicholson were named for him, his younger brothers, John Nicholson and Samuel Nicholson, his nephew, William Nicholson and his grandnephew, James W. Nicholson.