Pope Nicholas III (Latin: Nicolaus III; c. 1225 – August 1280), born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, is Pope from November 25 1277 to his death in 1280.
He is a Roman nobleman who had served under eight popes, been made Cardinal-Deacon of St. Nicola in Carcere Tulliano by Pope Innocent IV (1243–54), protector of the Franciscans by Pope Alexander IV (1254–61), inquisitor-general by Pope Urban IV (1261–64), and succeeds Pope John XXI (1276–77) after a six-month vacancy in the Holy See resolved in the papal election of 1277, largely through family influence.