William Howard Taft
Best known as: 27th president of the USA
Occupation: Politician
Nationality: American
Religion: Unitarian
Political party: Republican
Born: September 15, 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: March 8, 1930 in Washington, D. C.
Education: attended Yale and Cincinnati Law School
Offices held:
- Ohio Superior Court Judge (1887-1890)
- U.S. Solicitor General (1890-1892)
- U.S. Circuit Court Judge (1892-1900)
- Governor-General of the Philippines (1901-1904)
- U.S. Secretary of War (1904-1908)
- President of the U.S. (1909-1913)
- U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1921-1930)
Short biography:
Taft was a great legal mind but was never much of a politician. He was a stalwart Republican, serving as Secretary of War under Teddy Roosevelt, and he succeeded Roosevelt to the presidency. A rift developed between Taft and more liberal Republicans, including Roosevelt, when Taft supported the Payne-Aldrich Act, which upheld high tariffs, and stood by his Secretary of the Interior, who did not carry out Roosevelt's conservation policies. Also during Taft's presidency, 80 antitrust lawsuits were initiated by the government, and Congress submitted Amendments for an income tax and direct election of senators to the states. Roosevelt ditched the Republican Party to run as a Progressive in 1912, which resulted in the election being handed to Democrat Woodrow Wilson. After the presidency, Taft became a Professor of Law at Yale and then served as a Supreme Court Justice, the only president to do so.
Wife: Helen Herron Taft
Vice president: James Sherman
Parents: Alphonso and Louisa Taft
