William Howard Taft
Twenty-Seventh
President,
1909–1913
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“The President cannot make clouds to rain and cannot make the corn to grow, he cannot make business good; although when these things occur, political parties do claim some credit for the good things that have happened in this way.”
The Big Pitch:
In 1910, William Howard Taft became the first president to throw out the opening pitch for a professional baseball season. He was also the first president to have cars at the White House, and he helped start the "tradition" of federal income taxes. Taft, who once said, "politics makes me sick," fulfilled a lifelong ambition when he was named Supreme Court chief justice nine years after his presidency ended.
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Portrait by
William Valentine Schevill
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circa 1910
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NPG.72.25
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Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
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Fast Facts
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Party: |
Republican
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Date of Birth: |
Tuesday, September 15, 1857
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Date of Death: |
Sunday, March 8, 1931
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Vice President: |
James S. Sherman
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First Lady: |
Helen Herron Taft
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