One-time governor Samuel Jones Tilden upon his death bequeathed the bulk of his fortune — about $2.4 million — to "establish and maintain a free library and reading room in the city of New York."
Samuel J. Tilden (1814-1886) served as Governor of New York, 1875-1876, and was the Democratic nominee for the Presidency in 1876.
At the time of Tilden's death, New York already had two private libraries - the Astor and Lenox libraries. The Astor Library, John Jacob Astor’s legacy, built on Lafayette Street in 1854 was a scholarly reference collection; The Lenox Library, founded by the bibliophile philanthropist James Lenox in 1877, held special literary treasures and galleries of painting and sculpture. Both the Astor and Lenox libraries were experiencing financial difficulties in 1892.
In May 23, 1895, the resources of the John Jacob Astor and James Lenox libraries and the Tilden Trust are combined to form a new entity, to be known as The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.
In 1901, Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donates $5.2 million (the equivalent to $160 million today) to purchase land and build branch libraries that formed the backbone of The New York Public Library's circulating system.
The library’s central building at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City opened to the public on May 23rd, 1911.
New York Public Library: the second largest public library in the United States
