Taft Dies: Only Man to Lead Both Branches

William Howard Taft died on March 8, 1930, the only person in American history to serve as both President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He had always preferred the judiciary to the presidency: when his wife Helen pushed him toward the White House, he confided to friends that his real ambition was the Court. His presidency, from 1909 to 1913, was more legally consequential than popularly remembered. He prosecuted more antitrust cases than his predecessor Theodore Roosevelt, including the breakup of Standard Oil and American Tobacco. His appointment as Chief Justice in 1921 fulfilled his lifelong dream. On the bench, he modernized the federal court system, lobbied successfully for the construction of the Supreme Court building, and expanded the Court's discretionary jurisdiction through the Judiciary Act of 1925. Taft weighed over 350 pounds at his peak and reportedly got stuck in the White House bathtub, a story that may be apocryphal but has become inseparable from his legacy.