Country Vacations & Resorts

Time in Office: 1909 – 1913
Terms: One
Birthday: September 15, 1857
Birth Place: (Boyhood home) – Cincinnati, Ohio
Date of Death: March 8, 1930
Place of Death: Washington, DC
Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

Notes:
Youngest Solicitor General of the United States.
Wife Nellie, first President’s wife to walk in the Inaugural Parade.
First President to have a Presidential car.
First President to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Largest US President at 6′ 2″ tall and 350 pounds.
Although a large man, Taft was a good dancer and tennis player.

A son of educated and prosperous parents, America’s 27th President, William Howard Taft, spent his early years in Cincinnati where he attended high school, and in New Haven, Connecticut where he was a student at Yale. After college he attended the Cincinati Law School with his first appointment being Assistant Prosecutor for Hamilton County in Cincinnati. In 1882 he bgan working as a collector with the Internal Revenue Service and by 1887 he was judge of the State’s Superior Court. From 1887 to 1900, Taft’s rise to national prominence continued with his appointment as Solicitor General of the United States, time spent serving on the US Court of Appeals, and as a dean and professor at the University of Cincinnati.

In June 1886, Taft married Helen Herron. After an extensive European honeymoon, they settled in Cincinnati. After her husband’s appointment as Solicitor General in 1890, the family moved to Washington, DC. Their stay was brief though since they returned to Cincinnati when William was elected as a judge of the Circuit Court. “Nellie” as she was called, planted the first Cherry trees near the Tidal Basin in Washington. Her gift of American Beauty Roses to the wife of the Japanese Ambassador was the actual first “Cherry Blossom Festival” in 1912.

In 1900, Taft was selected by President McKinley to organize a government in the Philippines where he served as its first Governor-General. Taft was a popular and effective Governor – taking a trip to Rome to arrange with the Pope to release lands for sale, and then received funds from Congress to assist Filipinos in re-purchasing native lands. President Roosevelt offered Taft a spot on the US Supreme Court in 1903 but he turned it down – stating that he felt his work to stabilize the Philippines was not finished.

Returning to Washington as Secretary of War from 1904 to 1908, Taft’s travel experience and diplomacy would be put to good use. He met with the Prime Minister of Japan in Tokyo in July 1905, was the Governor of Cuba in 1906, and in 1907 he helped organize the construction of the Panama Canal. When Theodore Roosevelt decided not to seek re-election, Taft was nominated by their party and easily won the Presidential Election of 1908. Due in part with a rift with Roosevelt prior to the 1912 election that split the Republican party, Taft was defeated by Democrat Woodrow Wilson.

Credit: Beverly, MA Public Library
President Taft’s Summer White House, as it was called, was the beautiful Stetson Cottage in Beverly, Massachusetts.

The Taft family resided in New Haven, Connecticut for most of 1913 to 1921 where William returned to the law after his Presidency and when he achieved what had long been his stated goal – an appointment as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Sidetrip: A long awaited trip to Bermuda was cut short in 1920 when Taft was called home to arbitrate a railway dispute with Canada. He and his wife traveled from Hamilton, Bermuda onboard the Fort Victoria and arrived at the Port of New York, Ellis Island, in late January 1921.

Taft proudly held his Supreme Court position until just before his death in early 1930. He is one of only two Presidents buried at Arlington National Cemetery – his wife Nellie buried beside him. The other President buried there is President John F.Kennedy, and his wife, Jacqueline.

Get a feel for travel in the early 1900s by viewing some travel ads from the age.

William H. Taft – National Historic Site, Chicago.

Next: The 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson.