calm
Taft loved the law. He began his career working in a number of legal positions until being appointed an Ohio Supreme Court judge in 1887. In 1890, Taft was appointed Solicitor General of the United States and in 1891 a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 1900, President William McKinley appointed Taft Governor-General of the Philippines.
Taft developed a political alliance and a friendship with Teddy Roosevelt. In 1904, TR appointed Taft Secretary of War to groom Taft as his successor to the presidency. Riding a wave of popular support for Roosevelt, Taft won an easy victory in his 1908 bid for the presidency.
Unfortunately, the two men soon had a falling out after it became apparent that Taft intended to be his own man. In his first and only term, Taft's domestic agenda emphasized trust-busting, civil service reform, strengthening the Interstate Commerce Commission, and improving the performance of the postal service. Abroad, Taft sought to further the economic development of undeveloped nations in Latin America and Asia through the method he termed "Dollar Diplomacy".
Unlike Roosevelt, Taft never attacked business or businessmen in his rhetoric. Instead he launched 90 antitrust suits, including one against the country's largest corporation, U.S. Steel, for an acquisition that Roosevelt personally had approved. As a result, Taft lost the support of antitrust reformers, of big business, and of Roosevelt, who felt humiliated by his protégé.
Roosevelt broke with Taft in one of the most dramatic political feuds of the 20th century. To the surprise of observers who thought Roosevelt had unstoppable momentum, Taft outmaneuvered TR to gain control of the GOP, and forced him out of the party. It was his undoing. Roosevelt ran against Taft as a third party candidate for the Progressive (or "Bull Moose") Party. It was the most successful third party campaign in US history. Although Roosevelt did not win, he placed second to Democrat Woodrow Wilson, with Taft bringing up the rear.
After leaving the Presidency, Taft got the job that many said he wanted all along, when in 1921 President Warren Harding appointed Taft to be the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, the only former president to hold that office. He held the post until early 1930. Taft's health improved after the presidency, aided by his losing 80 pounds.
Taft died on March 8, 1930, five weeks after his retired. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, the first former president to be buried there.
Among other things that make him notable, Taft was the last president to sport facial hair.
