William Howard Taft

American politician who was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth Chief Justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. A Yale graduate of 1878, he served as a US. Circuit Judge, Governor of Philippines, Secretary of War, a Professor of Law at Yale and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Taft graduated Yale with second honors in 1878 and two years later, passed the Ohio bar. He worked as assistant prosecuting attorney for two years and as an assistant county solicitor. He was Judge of the Superior Court in 1887 to 1890, Solicitor-general for the U.S. 1890-1892 and U.S. Circuit Judge 1892-1900.

On 16 June 1886, he married Helen Herron; they had three children; his wife had a breakdown in 1909. Defeated in re-election in 1912, he became a Law Professor at Yale in 1913. Taft was appointed Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court on 11 July 1921.

Suffering with ill health, he resigned in February 1930 and died in his Washington home on 8 March 1930 at the age of 72.