In the mid-to-late 1800s, various elite in New York City bequeathed portions of their personal fortunes to the establishment of public libraries for the people of the city- which, at the time, consisted only of Manhattan. The Astor Library was created in 1854 in accordance with the last will and testament of real estate mogul Jacob Astor. The Lenox Library was created in 1877 in accordance with the wishes of scholar and curio collector James Lenox. Politician Samuel Tilden earmarked the bulk of his personal wealth to the creation of a library upon his death in 1886, though it sat untouched in a trust until 1895 when his lawyer, John Bigelow, was able to convince the financially struggling Astor and Lenox Libraries to merge into one unified library along with Tilden’s money. After a generou