William H. (William Howard) Taft

Born in Cincinnati in 1857, William Howard Taft studied at Yale and trained as a lawyer before rising quickly through public office in Ohio and Washington. He served as a judge, U.S. solicitor general, and governor-general of the Philippines, building a reputation as a careful administrator more comfortable with law and government than with campaign showmanship.

Taft became the 27th president of the United States in 1909. His presidency is often remembered for trust-busting, tariff fights, and a bitter split in the Republican Party that helped shape the election of 1912.

What makes Taft especially distinctive is what came after the presidency. In 1921 he became chief justice of the United States, a role he had long wanted, and he remains the only American to have led both the executive branch and the Supreme Court.