William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States, serving from 1909 to 1913, and the tenth chief justice of the United States, serving from 1921 to 1930, the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected president in 1908, the chosen successor of Theodore Roosevelt, but was defeated for reelection in 1912 by Woodrow Wilson after Roosevelt split the Republican vote by running as a third-party candidate. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft to be chief justice, a position he held until a month before his death.
William Howard Taft
Yale College photograph of Taft, c. 1878
Roosevelt introduces Taft as his crown prince: Puck magazine cover cartoon, 1906.
One of a series of candid photographs known as the Evolution of a Smile, taken just after a formal portrait session, as Taft learned in a telephone call from Roosevelt of his nomination for president
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
President of the United States
George Washington, the first president of the United States
President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1964 Civil Rights Act at the White House on July 2, 1964, as Martin Luther King Jr. and others look on.
President Donald Trump delivers his 2018 State of the Union Address before Congress.