TILDEN, SAMUEL JONES, an Amer ican statesman; born in New Lebanon, N. Y., Feb. 9, 1814; was educated at the University of New York; studied law with Benjamin F. Butler, and was ad mitted to the bar in 1841; began prac tice in New York City, and became ac tively interested in politics; was elected to the State Assembly in 1845; and was a delegate to the Constitutional Conven tion of 1846. His most celebrated cases as a practising lawyer were the contest of the election of Azariah C. Flagg to the comptrollership of New York City; the opposition of the heirs of the mur dered Dr. Burdell to a demand by Mrs. Cunningham for a power of administra tion over his estate, and the defense of the Pennsylvania Coal Company against a demand for the payment of extra tolls to the Delaware and Hudson Canal Com pany. During the Civil War he main tained that the struggle with the South could be terminated without resorting to acts not warranted by the Federal Con stitution. Mr. Tilden became leader of the Democratic party in New York State in 1868, and in that capacity strenuous ly opposed the corrupt administration of the Tweed faction. In 1874 he was
elected governor of New York, and dur ing his term of office broke up the no torious "canal ring." In 1876 he was nominated for the presidency of the Na tional Democratic Convention. In the election Hayes received 4,033,295 popu lar votes, and Tilden, 4,284,265. In 1877, on the finding of the Electoral Commis sion, the presidency was awarded to the Republican candidate by an electoral vote of 185 to 184. Mr. Tilden died in "Grey stone," his country-seat, near Yonkers, N. Y., Aug. 4, 1886. The bulk of his fortune, which consisted of several mil lion dollars, was bequeathed to trustees to be used for establishing a great public library in New York City, but his will was contested successfully. An heir re linquished her share of the estate and this became the nucleus and the begin ning of the Tilden Foundation of the New York Public Library. See HAYES, RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD; NEW YORK PUB LIC LIBRARY.