Sir William Augustus Tilden was born on August 15, 1842, in Camden Town, Middlesex, England.

He was a British chemist, educator, and author. He graduated from Bedford Modern School and the University of London (B.Sc., 1868; D.Sc., 1871). In 1864, he became a demonstrator in chemistry at the Pharmaceutical Society. After graduation, he became a senior teacher of science at Clifton College, Bristol (1872-1880) and Professor of Chemistry at Mason College, now the University of Birmingham (1880-1894). From 1894 to his death, he was at the Royal College of Science, London, being Professor of Chemistry to 1909, Dean from 1905 to 1909, and then Emeritus Professor. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1880 and served as its Vice-President from 1904 to 1906. In 1908, he was awarded the Davy Medal of the Society. He was President of the Chemical Society from 1903 to 1905. Tiden held office in various organizations, e.g., the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the Institute of Chemistry (now Royal Institute of Chemistry ), and the Society of Chemical Industry. He published “Famous Chemists: the Men and Their Work” (1921). In 1939, the Royal Society of Chemistry created the Tilden Prize in his honour, awarded annually to three young members.

In 1869, he married Charlotte Pither (1847–1905), and in 1907, he remarried Julia Mary Rannie (1864–). He died on December 11, 1926, in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England.