- Born
- Died
- Nickname
- Big Bill
- Height5′ 11½″ (1.82 m)
- William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States (1909-1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921-1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected president in 1908, the chosen successor of Theodore Roosevelt, but was defeated for reelection in 1912 by Woodrow Wilson after Roosevelt split the Republican vote by running as a third-party candidate. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft to be chief justice, a position he held until a month before his death.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bonitao
- His father Alphonso Taft was a member of Grant's cabinet for a time and was then envoy to Austria-Hungary and Russia under President Chester Arthur. The mother was a merchant's daughter from Boston. After graduating from high school, Taft studied law until 1878 and was admitted to the bar in 1883. In 1886 he married the music teacher Helen Herron. The couple had 3 children. In 1887 he became a justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio and was a federal judge from 1893 to 1900. From 1904 to 1908 he worked in the War Ministry. In the same year, US President Theodore Roosevelt declined to run again in the presidential election.
The winner of the elections in December 1908 was the Republican Taft. In 1909, William Howard Taft was sworn in as the 27th President of the United States of America. During his term in office, Taft, who belonged to the conservative wing of the Republican Party, continued his predecessor's imperialist foreign policy course. Long-lasting intra-party disputes arose when Taft weakened his predecessor's economic measures, such as "tariffs" or the "Anti-Trust Act" to combat corruption. This situation overshadowed his entire term in office and ultimately led to a split in the Republican Party.
In the presidential election of 1912, Taft was defeated by his opponent Woodrow Wilson, who was sworn in as the 28th President of the United States of America in 1913. William Taft became a professor at Yale University after serving from 1913 to 1921. From 1921 to 1930 he became chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
William Howard Taft died on March 8, 1930 in Washington.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth - William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States (1909-1913).
Taft was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father, Alphonso Taft, was an Attorney General and Secretary of War. Taft attended Yale. After becoming a lawyer, Taft was appointed a judge. He continued a rapid rise, being named a judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1901, President William McKinley appointed Taft civilian governor of the Philippines. In 1904, Roosevelt made him Secretary of War, and he became Roosevelt's successor. Taft had little opposition for the Republican nomination for president in 1908 and easily defeated William Jennings Bryan for the presidency. In the White House, he focused on East Asia more than European affairs.
After leaving office, Taft returned to Yale as a professor, continuing his political activity. In 1921, President Harding appointed Taft as Chief Justice, an office he had long sought. In poor health, he resigned in February 1930, and died the following month. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the first president and first Supreme Court justice to be interred there.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tango Papa
- SpouseHelen Taft(June 19, 1886 - March 8, 1930) (his death, 3 children)
- Children
- RelativesWilliam Howard Taft IV(Great Grandchild)Bob Taft(Great Grandchild)Charles Phelps Taft(Half Sibling)Robert Taft Jr.(Grandchild)
- Although he was famous for his weight, he actually lost 137 pounds after leaving the office. He jokingly said it was because the weight of the job was finally off his shoulders.
- At well over 300 pounds, he was the heaviest American president. Once he famously became stuck in the White House bathtub and had to be pried out. Afterwards, a wider tub, built especially for him, was installed.
- Pictured on the 50¢ US postage stamp in the Presidential Series, issued 8 December 1938.
- Buried with his wife at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia.
- Pictured on a US 4¢ regular series postage stamp issued 4 June 1930.
- Anti-Semitism is a noxious weed that should be cut out. It has no place in America.
- Substantial progress toward better things can rarely be taken without developing new evils requiring new remedies.
- The trouble with me is that I like to talk too much.
- I am president now, and tired of being kicked around.
- We live in a stage of politics, where legislators seem to regard the passage of laws as much more important than the results of their enforcement.
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