Birth: April 3, 1823, New York, New York
Death: April 12, 1878, New York, New York (in jail)
Early Influences:
- Held numerous jobs including being a chairmaker, a bookkeeper, a member of father's brush-man firm, and a volunteer fireman.
- Became an alderman to New York city in 1851 and rose quickly through the ranks
Education:
- Attended public school
- Learned chairmaking as a trade
Major Accomplishments:
- Built his power in Tammany Hall through the appointment and election of his friends (called the 'Tweed Ring')
- Conned and plundered the city of New York out of between 30-200 million dollars
- Elected into the US House of Representatives in 1852
- Elected to the New York City Board of Advisors in 1856
- Elected a New York State Senator in 1867
- Forced passage of the New York City charter in 1870
Significance:
- Controlled all Democratic New York state and city nominations from 1860-1870
- Used illegal means to force election of his choice for New York governor, New York City mayor, and speaker of the assembly
- Raised public indignation against graft and was convicted and sentenced to prison (Note: He was also sued by the city of New York in a civil suit. He escaped from jail and fled to Spain. He was identified there from a cartoon drawn by Thomas Nast. He was returned to New York and died in jail there.)
Contemporaries:
- Thomas Nast - Editorial Cartoonist
- Ulysses S. Grant - United States President
- Samuel J. Tilden - Lawyer and Democratic Politician
