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William Howard Taft

27th President of the United States from 1909 to 1913 (1857-1930) · United States · Politicians · Died at 72

William Howard Taft is read about 3,452 times a day, in 131 languages.

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The only person to serve both as president and chief justice of the Supreme Court - though he wanted the robes far more than the Oval Office and spent years declining appointments to get the politics done first.

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A life in dates

1930Died8 March 19301921Chief Justice of the United StatesOffice1921-19301913“Socialism proposes no adequate substitute for the motive of enlightened selfishness that to-day is at the basis of all human labor and effort, enterprise and new activity.”In their wordsPopular Government: Its Essence, Its Permanence and Its Perils, chapter 4, p.91 (1913).

1911“I love judges, and I love courts. They are my ideals, that typify on earth what we shall meet hereafter in heaven under a just God.”In their words5 October 1911Address in Pocatello, Idaho (5 October 1911).

1909“I am in favor of helping the prosperity of all countries because, when we are all prosperous, the trade of each becomes more valuable to the other.”In their words6 October 1909Address at the Hotel Fairmont in San Francisco (6 October 1909).

“I have come to the conclusion that the major part of the work of a President is to increase the gate receipts of expositions and fairs and bring tourists to town.”In their words1 June 1909Letter of Archibald Butt to Clara F. Butt (1 June 1909); reprinted in The Intimate Letters of Archie Butt (Doubleday, Doran, & Co., 1930).

President of the United StatesOffice1909-19131908“If humor be the safety of our race, then it is due largely to the infusion into the American people of the Irish brain.”In their words5 August 1908Irish Humor, address in Hot Springs, Virginia (5 August 1908) .

President-elect of the United StatesOffice1908-19091906Governor of CubaOffice1904United States Secretary of WarOffice1904-19081901Governor-General of the PhilippinesOffice1901-19031899“I am a Unitarian. I believe in God. I do not believe in the divinity of Christ, and there are many postulates of the orthodox creed to which I cannot subscribe.”In their wordsLetter to Yale University (1899), quoted in Henry F. Pringle, William Howard Taft: The Life and Times, vol. 1, p. 45 (1939).

1892Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth CircuitOffice1892-19001890Solicitor General of the United StatesOffice1857Born15 September 1857

Also in Deutsch

Photos 12

Yale College photograph of Taft, c. 1878Yale College photograph of Taft, c. 1878Sultan Jamalul Kiram II with William Howard Taft of the Philippine Commission in Jolo, Sulu (March 27, 1901)Sultan Jamalul Kiram II with William Howard Taft of the Philippine Commission in Jolo, Sulu (March 27, 1901)Roosevelt introduces Taft as his crown prince: Puck magazine cover cartoon, 1906.Roosevelt introduces Taft as his crown prince: Puck magazine cover cartoon, 1906.One of a series of candid photographs known as the Evolution of a Smile, taken just after a formal portrait session, as Taft learned in a telephone call from Roosevelt of his nomination for presidentOne of a series of candid photographs known as the Evolution of a Smile, taken just after a formal portrait session, as Taft learned in a telephone call from Roosevelt of his nomination for president1908 Taft/Sherman poster1908 Taft/Sherman poster

In their own words 10

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William Howard Taft
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10 statements, newest first

  1. Socialism proposes no adequate substitute for the motive of enlightened selfishness that to-day is at the basis of all human labor and effort, enterprise and new activity.

    1913, Popular Government: Its Essence, Its Permanence and Its Perils, chapter 4, p.91 (1913)., Own words

  2. The diplomacy of the present administration has sought to respond to modern ideas of commercial intercourse.

    Dec 3, 1912, "State of the Union" (3 December 1912)., Own words

  3. I love judges, and I love courts. They are my ideals, that typify on earth what we shall meet hereafter in heaven under a just God.

    Oct 5, 1911, Address in Pocatello, Idaho (5 October 1911)., Own words

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Awards

Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

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About this person

Born in Cincinnati in 1857 to a father who'd been attorney general and war secretary, Taft shot through the legal ranks - judge in his twenties, solicitor general, appellate court - before Theodore Roosevelt sent him to govern the Philippines in 1901 and then made him secretary of war. He rode Roosevelt's backing to the presidency in 1908, beating William Jennings Bryan, but the term unraveled: tariff fights, a split between conservative and progressive Republicans, and a bitter break with Roosevelt himself over conservation and antitrust policy. The 1912 race became a three-way brawl when Roosevelt challenged him for renomination; Taft held the party machinery but lost all but Utah and Vermont to Woodrow Wilson. He went back to Yale to teach, worked for the League to Enforce Peace, and finally got what he'd wanted all along when Warren Harding made him chief justice in 1921. He served nine years, resigned in failing health in February 1930, and died a month later - the first president buried at Arlington.

Country
United States
Category
Politicians
Type
Politician
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1857 to 1930 · aged 72

Politicians from the United States 6

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