Theodore Tilton

Tilton circa 1870 Theodore Tilton (October 2, 1835 – May 29, 1907) was an American newspaper editor, poet and abolitionist. He was born in New York City to Silas Tilton and Eusebia Tilton (same surname). On his twentieth birthday, October 2, 1855, he married Elizabeth Richards. Tilton's newspaper work was fully supportive of abolitionism and the Northern cause in the American Civil War.

Theodore Tilton was present at The Southern Loyalist Convention held in Philadelphia in September 1866. Frederick Douglass writes of him in his autobiography:

There was one man present who was broad enough to take in the whole situation, and brave enough to meet the duty of the hour; one who was neither afraid nor ashamed to own me as a man and a brother; ''one man'' of the purest Caucasian type, a poet and a scholar, brilliant as a writer, eloquent as a speaker, and holding a high and influential position—the editor of a weekly journal having the largest circulation of any weekly paper in the city or State of New York—and that man was ''Mr. Theodore Tilton''. He came to me in my isolation, seized me by the hand in a most brotherly way, and proposed to walk with me in the procession.


From 1860 to 1863, Tilton was the assistant of Henry Ward Beecher at the New York periodical ''The Independent'', owned by Henry Chandler Bowen. He succeeded Beecher as editor-in-chief until he was forced to resign in 1870. In 1869 he gave the commencement speech for the Irving Literary Society.

In 1874 Tilton filed a complaint against Beecher for "criminal conversation" (adultery) with Elizabeth Richards Tilton and sued for a $100,000 (~$}} in ) judgment.

The Beecher-Tilton trial ended in a deadlocked jury. Afterwards, Tilton moved to Paris, where he lived for the rest of his life. In the 1880s, Tilton frequently played chess with a fellow American exile, ex-Confederate Secretary of State Judah Benjamin, until the latter died in 1884.

As a poet, Tilton is famous for his 1858 poem "The King's Ring", with its famous line, "Even this shall pass away", which is the last line of each of its seven stanzas. Provided by Wikipedia
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    The sexton's tale, and other poems. by Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907

    Published 1867
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  4. 4

    Tempest-tossed a romance / by Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907

    Published 1874
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  5. 5

    Sanctum sanctorum; or, Proof-sheets from an editor's table. by Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907

    Published 1870
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    Victoria C. Woodhull a biographical sketch / by Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907

    Published 1871
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  8. 8

    The rights of women a letter to Horace Greely / by Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907

    Published 1871
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    Last poems / by Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 1806-1861

    Published 1862
    Other Authors: “…Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907…”
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    Poems / by Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 1806-1861

    Published 1866
    Other Authors: “…Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907…”
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    Official report of the trial of Henry Ward Beecher, with notes and references by Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887

    Published 1875
    Other Authors: “…Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907…”
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  14. 14

    Official report of the trial of Henry Ward Beecher, with notes and references by Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887

    Published 1875
    Other Authors: “…Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907…”
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  15. 15

    Data processing for decision-making : an introduction to third-generation information systems / by Brightman, Richard W.

    Published 1968
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    Official report of the trial of Henry Ward Beecher by Beecher, Henry Ward, 1813-1887

    Published 1875
    Other Authors: “…Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907…”
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    A review of the Beecher case by Fairfield, Edmund B. (Edmund Burke), 1821-1904

    Published 1874
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    Theodore Tilton v. Henry Ward Beecher action for crim. con. tried in the City Court of Brooklyn, Chief Justice Joseph Neilson, presiding /

    Published 1875
    Other Authors: “…Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907…”
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    Pictorial edition of the Tilton-Beecher trial a complete history, containing over one hundred engravings of this famous trial.

    Published 1874
    Other Authors: “…Tilton, Theodore, 1835-1907…”
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