Presidents of the United States (POTUS)

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William Howard Taft

27th President of the United States
(March 4, 1909 to March 3, 1913)

Nickname: None listed.

Born: September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: March 8, 1930, in Washington, D.C.

Father: Alphonso Taft
Mother: Louisa Maria Torrey Taft
Married: Helen Herron (1861-1943), on June 19, 1886
Children: Robert Alphonso Taft (1889-1953); Helen Herron Taft (1891-1987); Charles Phelps Taft (1897-1983)

Religion: Unitarian
Education: Graduated from Yale College (1878); Cincinnati Law School (1880)
Occupation: Lawyer, public official
Political Party: Republican
Other Government Positions:

Judge in Ohio Superior Court, 1887-90
U.S. Solicitor General, 1890-92
U.S. Circuit Court Judge, 1892-1900
Governor of the Philippines, 1901-04
Secretary of War, 1904-08 (under T. Roosevelt)
Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1921-30

Presidential Salary: $75,000/year

**Presidential Election Results:**
Year		Popular Votes	Electoral Votes
1908	William H. Taft	7,676,320	321
	William J. Bryan	6,412,294	162
1912	Woodrow Wilson	6,296,547	435
	Theodore Roosevelt	4,118,571	88
	William H. Taft	3,486,720	8

Vice President: James S. Sherman (1909-12)

Cabinet:

Secretary of State: Philander C. Knox (1909-13)
Secretary of the Treasury: Franklin MacVeagh (1909-13)
Secretary of War: Jacob M. Dickinson (1909-11); Henry L. Stimson (1911-13)
Attorney General: George W. Wickersham (1909-13)
Postmaster General: Frank H. Hitchcock (1909-13)
Secretary of the Navy: George von L. Meyer (1909-13)
Secretary of the Interior: Richard A. Ballinger (1909-11); Walter Lowrie Fisher (1911-13)
Secretary of Agriculture: James Wilson (1909-13)
Secretary of Commerce and Labor: Charles Nagel (1909-13)

Supreme Court Appointments:

Chief Justice: Edward Douglass White (1910-21)
Associate Justice: Horace Harmon Lurton (1910-14); Charles Evans Hughes (1910-16); Willis Van Devanter (1911-37); Joseph Rucker Lamar (1911-16); Mahlon Pitney (1912-22)

Notable Events:

Internet Biographies:

William Howard Taft -- from The Presidents of the United States of America: Compiled by the White House.
William Howard Taft -- from American Presidents: Life Portraits -- C-SPAN: Biographical information, trivia, key events, video, and other reference materials. Website created to accompany C-SPAN's 20th Anniversary Television Series, American Presidents: Life Portraits.
William Howard Taft -- from The American President: From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.

Historical Documents:

Inaugural Address (1909)

Media Resources:

Audio
Abolishment of war throughout the world. (2:30): MP3 (1,180K); From the Vincent Voice Library at Michigan State University.

Other Internet Resources:

William Howard Taft National Historic Site: The Cincinnati, Ohio birthplace and childhood home of Taft. Tourist information is available.

Points of Interest:

Previous President: Theodore Roosevelt | Next President: Woodrow Wilson