Til·den (t?l?d?n), Samuel Jones 1814-1886. American politician. The Democratic presidential nominee in 1876, he won the popular election but lost the presidency in a controversy over electoral college votes that was settled by a special commission in favor of Rutherford B. Hayes.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.