William Howard Taft, a scion of a long-prominent family, was born in Cincinnati on September 15, 1857. His father, Alphonso Taft, had a distinguished career in law and foreign service. Alphonso Taft was a state judge from 1865-72, U.S. Secretary of War in 1876 (a position his son would later hold), U.S. Attorney General from 1876-77, Minister to Austria-Hungary from 1882-1884, and Minister to Russia from 1884-1885.
Young Taft attended Woodward High School in Cincinnati, finishing second in his class. He followed family tradition and went to Yale, again finishing as salutatorian-he was nothing if not consistent. He then returned to Cincinnati and received his law degree from The Cincinnati Law School, which would later merge with the University of Cincinnati.
William Howard Taft's first public office was as Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor, in 1881. Then, at age 30, he served as judge on the Superior Court in Cincinnati for three years, before being appointed Solicitor General of the United States in 1890.
Read Full Article »
