William Howard Taft was born on 15 September 1857 in Cincinnati. A lawyer and judge from Ohio, Taft served as governor-general of the Philippines and secretary of war under Theodore Roosevelt, who chose him as his successor. As the 27th President of the United States, he pursued antitrust cases against monopolies even more actively than his predecessor, and two constitutional amendments, on income tax and the direct election of senators, were passed during his term. But disputes over tariffs and conservation split the Republican Party, and Roosevelt ran against him in 1912, letting Woodrow Wilson win. In 1921 Taft was appointed Chief Justice of the United States, the only person to have led both the executive and judicial branches.
Before and after
- from 8 June 1857 to 21 September 1857Siege of Delhi
- 5 July 1857Birth of Clara Zetkin
- 5 September 1857Death of Auguste Comte
- 5 September 1857Birth of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
- 15 September 1857Birth of William Howard Taft
- 26 November 1857Birth of Ferdinand de Saussure
- 3 December 1857Birth of Joseph Conrad
- from 1858 to 1947British Raj
- 1858Natural selection
More in Wars, politics & history
- 1790Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
- from 24 June 1812 to 14 December 1812French invasion of Russia
- from 18 March 1839 to 29 August 1842First Opium War
- from 24 April 1846 to 2 February 1848Mexican-American War
- from 1 August 1894 to 17 April 1895First Sino-Japanese War
- from 8 October 1912 to 30 May 1913First Balkan War
The era
This moment belongs to the Industrial era (1760 CE to 1914 CE), steam, factories and revolutions. You can also browse everything in the 19th century.