TILDEN, SAMUEL JONES (1814-1886), American statesman, was born at New Lebanon, N.Y., on Feb. 9, 1814. In 1834 he entered Yale university, but soon withdrew on account of ill health, and later studied in the College of the City of New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1841, and rose rapidly to the front rank. In the financial troubles between 1850 and 186o it is said that more than half the railways north of the Ohio river and between the Hudson and the Missouri rivers were at some time his clients. In spite of his activity at the bar, Tilden maintained an interest in politics, serving in the State assembly in 1846 and in the State Constitutional Conventions of 1846 and 1867. In 1848, largely on account of his personal attachment to Martin Van Buren, he participated in the revolt of the "Barn burner" or free-soil faction of the New York Democrats, and in 1855 was the candidate of the "sof tshell" or anti-slavery faction for attorney general of the State. During the Civil War, although he opposed several of the war measures of President Lincoln's Administration, he gave the Union cause his heartiest support.
In 1866 Tilden became chairman of the Democratic State com mittee, and soon came into conflict with the notorious "Tweed ring" of New York city. As the "ring" could be destroyed only by removing the corrupt judges who were its tools, Tilden, after entering the assembly in 1872 to promote the cause of reform, took a leading part in their impeachment. By analysing the bank accounts of certain members of the "ring," he obtained legal proof of the principle on which the spoils had been divided. His fame as a reformer brought him to the governor's chair in 1874, and he at once gave his attention to breaking up the "canal ring," made up of members of both parties who had been systematically robbing the State through the maladministration of its canals.
In 1876 the Democrats nominated him for the Presidency, the Republicans nominating Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio. The result was the disputed election of 1876, when two sets of returns were sent to Washington from the States of Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Oregon. As the Federal Constitution con tained no provision for settling a dispute of this kind the two houses of Congress agreed to the appointment of an extra-con stitutional body, the "Electoral Commission" (q.v.), which de cided all the contests in favour of the Republican candidates. Tilden counselled his followers to abide quietly by the result. The remainder of his life was spent in retirement at his country home, Greystone, near Yonkers, N.Y., where he died Aug. 4, 1886. Of his fortune (estimated at $5,000,000) approximately was bequeathed for the establishment and maintenance of "a free public library and reading-room in the City of New York"; but, as the will was successfully contested by relatives, only about $2,000,000 of the bequest was applied to its original purpose; in 1895 the Tilden Trust was combined with the Astor and Lenox libraries to form the New York Public library.
See Writings and Speeches of Samuel J. Tilden (1885) and Letters and Literary Memorials of Samuel J. Tilden (1908), both edited by John Bigelow ; also Bigelow's Life of Samuel J. Tilden (1895) ; and P. L. Haworth, The Hayes-Tilden Election (1927).