William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft house in Cincinnati

I am learning a lot about former presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft in Doris Kearns Goodwin's The Bully Pulpit. Both were quite brilliant men; Roosevelt (Harvard) had a natural curiosity and creative mind while Taft (Yale) had a more studious intelligence.

One thing I didn't know was that Taft, who served both as president and chief justice of the United States, was originally from Cincinnati a mere 90 miles up the Ohio River from where I live. He came from a respected and accomplished family. Taft was born in 1857 and the house he grew up in is now a National Park Service site and has been restored to look as it did when the Tafts lived there. There are exhibits on President Taft's accomplishments as well.

The city also holds the Taft Museum of Art, the historic house and private art collection bequeathed to Cincinnati by Taft's half brother, Charles and his wife Anna Stinton Taft.  

I do believe I sense a field trip in my near future.