Tydings also argued Eisenstadt v. Baird, in which the Supreme Court of the United States legalized birth control for single persons in 1972.

[2] Tydings was born in Asheville, North Carolina,[3] the son of Eleanor Davies and Thomas Patton Cheesborough, who divorced in 1935.

He served in the 6th Constabulary Regiment from 1946 to 1948 during the U.S. Army's post-World War II occupation of Germany and attained the rank of corporal.

[8] While attending college, Tydings became a brother of Alpha Phi Omega, and he graduated from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1953.

[3] He served as a Delegate from 1955 to 1961, when he was appointed United States Attorney for Maryland by President John F. Kennedy, a close friend.

[10] As U.S. Attorney, Tydings brought many political corruption cases, including against Congressman Thomas Francis Johnson and state House of Delegates speaker A. Gordon Boone, both of whom were imprisoned.

[3] In the 1964 elections, Tydings was frequently mentioned as a potential candidate for the United States Senate seat of Republican J. Glenn Beall.

On January 14, 1964, Tydings officially declared his candidacy, stating he was challenging the "old guard" of the Maryland Democratic Party political machine.

[13] His large margin of victory was due at least in part to the landslide win by fellow Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson for President in the same election, which likely increased voter turnout.

[14] Upon his election, Tydings began to lay out his legislative agenda for his upcoming term, which included water conservation, pollution and air purity, and public transport.

In July 1970, syndicated columnist Marquis Childs noted that Tydings' problems on the left stemmed from his support of a crime bill for the Washington, D.C., which was perceived as repressive against African Americans.

[26] Tydings resumed his legal career after he lost his Senate seat, entering into practice with a Washington law firm that included Giant Food President Joseph Danzansky.

[27] After several years out of politics, he began traveling the state in 1975 to gauge his chances for winning a rematch versus Beall, who was coming up for re-election in 1976.

On January 10, 1976, Tydings announced his candidacy for his former senate seat, which he argued was taken unfairly in 1970 due to an undisclosed $180,000 gift to the Beall campaign.

[27] In the primary, Tydings faced a strong challenge from Congressman Paul Sarbanes, who had entered the race several months earlier.

[28] For the primary election, Tydings needed a large margin of victory from precincts in the Washington, D.C., suburbs of Prince George's and Montgomery Counties, where he was most popular.

[2] Tydings also worked as a partner in the law firm of Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Heine, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey, which collapsed in 1987.