Tilden, Douglas, 1860-1935

Tilden, a sculptor, who lost his hearing and speech at a young age due to scarlet fever, was educated at what would later become the California School for the Deaf (Berkeley), where he later taught. He was a founder of the California Association of the Deaf.

From the description of Douglas Tilden papers, 1860-1970. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 227464622

Biographical Chronology

[Excerpted from Douglas Tilden: Portrait of a Deaf Sculptor by Mildred Albronda, (T. J. Publishers: Silver Spring, Maryland / 1980)]

• 1860: Born May 1 in Chico, California to Dr. William Peregrine Tilden and Catherine Maria Hecox Tilden.
• 1861: Moved to Stockton where Dr. Tilden became resident physician of what is now the Stockton State Hospital.
• 1864 or 1865: Lost hearing and speech due to scarlet fever.
• 1866: January 25 entered the California Institution for the Education of the Indigent Deaf and Dumb, and the Blind in San Francisco, which later moved to Berkeley and then, Fremont, and became known as the California School for the Deaf.
• 1869: California School for the Deaf relocated to Berkeley.
• 1873: Dr. William P. Tilden died in May.
• 1879: Graduated from the California School for the Deaf and takes position as teacher there.
• 1883: Became interested in sculpture.
• 1885: Wrote Deaf Mutes and Their Education, published in the Overland Monthly. Modeled small statuette, Tired Wrestler. When this came to the attention of California School for the Deaf's board, they offered him the opportunity to study in New York and Paris.
• 1887: Spent eight months in New York studying art.
• 1888: Arrived in Paris; studied under deaf sculptor Paul Choppin, among others.
• 1889: The Baseball Player (plaster) accepted in the Salon. Assisted in inaugurating the first International Congress of the Deaf, in Paris.
• 1891: The Baseball Player (bronze) unveiled in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
• 1892: Tired Boxer purchased by subscription of individual members of the Olympic Club, San Francisco.
• 1894: Exhibited Football Players (plaster) in Salon. Returned to the United States and accepted a position to develop the first Department of Modeling at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art. Elected a member of the Bohemian Club.
• 1895: Bronze, Bear Hunt, arrived at the California School for the Deaf from the Chicago World's Fair.
• 1896: Married Elizabeth Delano Cole, also deaf, June 6, in her Oakland home.
• 1897: Admission Day monument unveiled in San Francisco.
• 1900: Daughter Gladys born, January 5. Football Players installed at the University of California, Berkeley.
• 1901: Resigned teaching position to set up his own studio in Oakland. The Mechanics unveiled in San Francisco.
• 1903: Received the commission in a national competition for a monument to the California Spanish-American War volunteer infantrymen. Son Willoughby born September 4.
• 1904: Received the commission for Oregon Volunteers.
• 1905: Spearheaded the organization of the California Association of the Deaf.
• 1906: California Volunteers unveiled. San Francisco earthquake and fire. Tilden temporarily in Portland, Oregon.
• 1907: Senator White statue completed. Junipero Serra monument installed in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.
• 1910: Elected president of the California Association of the Deaf.
• 1912: Twelve Stages of Man (bronze) bas-reliefs placed on McElroy Fountain in Lakeside Park, Oakland.
• 1914: Worked on model, Modern Civilization, for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
• 1915 - 1916 : Wrote novel, The Autobiography of a Dummy, later renamed The Gap.
• 1918: Moved his studio to 314 Hobart, Oakland.
• 1920: Became a machinist.
• 1924: Elizabeth filed for divorce. Went to Hollywood to work in the Hal Roach Studio fabricating animals for movie sets. Built new studio at 834 Channing Way, Berkeley.
• 1926: Divorce final. Finished The Bridge.
• 1929 - 1930 : Assisted Brother Cornelius in the Art Department at St. Mary's College, Moraga, California.
• 1931: Created plaster bust of painter William Keith for the opening of the Keith Gallery at St. Mary's College.
• 1934: Mother, Catherine Maria Hecox Tilden Brown, died.
• 1935: Found dead in his studio, August 6.

From the guide to the Douglas Tilden Papers, 1860-1970, (The Bancroft Library)