William Howard Taft is the only person to have served as both president and chief justice of the United States. He was also a local and federal judge, governor of the Philippines, solicitor general for the United States, and secretary of war. William Howard Taft loved the law. He would have been content to be a judge, but his family – and history – had other ideas. When Theodore Roosevelt declined to run again in 1908, he picked Taft as his successor. With Roosevelt’s support, Taft was easily elected.

Though he lost his bid for reelection in 1912, Taft did not simply retire. After a stint as a law professor at Yale, he was named chief justice of the Supreme Court, where he created a lasting legacy through his reform of the federal judiciary.

Author Mark P. Painter has served as a judge on the Ohio First District Court of Appeals since 1995, after 13 years on the Hamilton County (Cincinnati) Municipal Court. The author of four legal books and numerous articles, Judge Painter has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Cincinnati College of Law since 1990. He also serves on the board of trustees of the Friends of the William Howard Taft Birthplace.

One of the Ohio President Series. Biography, American History. Age 12 and up. Size: 6 x 9, 112 p., illustrated with period art and photographs. Contains places to visit, source documents, web resources, index.