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• William H. Taft was the 27th President of the United States and the only person to serve both as President and as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

  Before being nominated for the office of the President, Taft had served as the Solicitor General of the United States and Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt. Taft's administration was characterized by its vigilance in busting trusts and monopolies. His presidency also also the expansion of civil service and the establishment of a more efficient postal system.

• Fast Facts

  1. Born: September 15, 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio
  2. Political party: Republican
  3. Administration: 1909-1913
  4. Vice President: James S. Sherman
  5. Succeeded by: Woodrow Wilson
  6. Secretary of State: Philander C. Knox
  7. Spouse: Helen Herron Taft
  8. Occupation: Lawyer
  9. Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court: 1921-1930
  10. Died: March 8, 1930 in Washington DC

• Timeline

  • September 15, 1857: Born in Cincinnati, Ohio
  • 1887: Graduated 2nd in class fom Yale University
  • 1880: Graduated from Cincinnati Law School
  • 1890-1892: Fifth United States Solicitor General
  • 1901-1903: First Civil Governor of the Philippines
  • 1904-1908: 42nd United States Secretary of War
  • 1906-1906: First Provisional Governor of Cuba
  • 1909-1913: 27th President of the United States
  • 1921-1930: Tenth Chief Justice of the United States
  • March 4, 1930: Died

• Election of 1912

  Fellow Republican and former colleague Theodore Roosevelt publicly broke with Taft for what he felt were Taft's reactionary policies. When Taft went up for reelection in 1912, Roosevelt decided to run against him. While Roosevelt won the primary elections for the Republican ticket with Taft coming in a distant third, Taft had rallied the support of the party faithful, lawyers who were turned off by Roosevelt's attacks on the judiciary, and won the delegate count and became the Republican Party's nominee for the office.

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Woodrow Wilson | Theodore Roosevelt | Yale University | United States Presidents | The U.S. Supreme Court | Warren G. Harding | Rutherford B. Hayes | William McKinley | Herbert Hoover | University of Southern California | William Jennings Bryan

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