Tilghman Howard

{{Short description|American politician}}

{{use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix=

| name = Tilghman Howard

| image = Tilghman Howard cph.3a03387.jpg

| image_size = 250px

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| office = 5th Chargé d'Affaires of the United States to Texas

| status =

| term_start = August 2, 1844

| term_end = August 16, 1844

| predecessor = William Sumter Murphy

| successor = Andrew Jackson Donelson

| president = John Tyler

| state1 = Indiana

| district1 = 7th

| term_start1 = August 5, 1839

| term_end1 = July 1, 1840

| predecessor1 = Albert Smith White

| successor1 = Henry S. Lane

| order2 = 5th

| office2 = United States Attorney for the District of Indiana

| term_start2 = 1833

| term_end2 = 1839

| predecessor2 = Samuel Judah

| successor2 = John Pettit

| president2 = Andrew Jackson
Martin Van Buren

| birth_name = Tilghman Ashurst Howard

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1797|11|14}}

| birth_place = Easley, South Carolina, United States

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1844|8|16|1797|11|14}}

| death_place = Washington-on-the-Brazos, Republic of Texas

| death_cause = Yellow fever

| resting_place = Rockville Cemetery, Rockville, Indiana

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| party = Democratic

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| occupation = Lawyer

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Tilghman Ashurst Howard (November 14, 1797 – August 16, 1844) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from Indiana. He was born near Easley, South Carolina. He moved to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1816 and was admitted to the bar there in 1818. In 1830, he moved to Bloomington, Indiana, and in 1833 to Rockville, Indiana. President Andrew Jackson appointed him US Attorney for Indiana, and he served as such from 1833 to 1839. In 1838, he sought, unsuccessfully, to be elected to the U.S. Senate. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives on August 5, 1839, and served until he resigned on July 1, 1840.

In 1841, Howard unsuccessfully defended the blacksmith Noah Beauchamp against a murder charge. Beauchamp was convicted and executed in Parke County, Indiana.Indiana Magazine of History, Vol. 12, Murphy: Parke County, Indiana University, p. 151.

He sought election as Governor of Indiana in 1840 and as United States Senator in 1843 but was unsuccessful. He was appointed chargé d'affaires to the Republic of Texas on June 11, 1844,{{cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/people/chiefsofmission/texas|title=Chiefs of Mission for Texas|publisher=U.S. Department of State|access-date=2011-05-20}} and presented his credentials on August 2, 1844; he served all of two weeks before his untimely death in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, at the age of 46. Howard is buried in Rockville, Indiana.[https://books.google.com/books?id=joV5AAAAMAAJ&dq=Tilghman+buried+rockville+1844&pg=PA439 The Pioneer History of Illinois][https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fho79 Handbook of Texas Online]

Howard County, Indiana,{{cite web | url=http://chestnut.kokomo.lib.in.us/glhs/history/hocotwps.html | title=Howard County's Townships and Their Early Settlements and Towns | publisher=Kokomo-Howard County Public Library | access-date=June 2, 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://archive.today/20131222124246/http://chestnut.kokomo.lib.in.us/glhs/history/hocotwps.html | archive-date=December 22, 2013 }} and Howard County, Iowa, are named in his honor.