William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the Americas. William was born on September 15, 1857. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to the Taft family. Taft's father, Alphonso Taft, was a lawyer and civil servant; he was President Grant's secretary of war. Taft's father was a lawyer. William's mother, Louise Maria Taft, was Alphonso's second wife. William had two half-brothers, two brothers and a sister. Her ancestry is English and Scots-Irish. William attended public school in Cincinnati. He went to Woodward High School and then to Yale University in 1874. He was a rather intelligent boy; he graduated second in his entire class at Yale University. Williams' father also attended Yale, graduating in 1833, later becoming a tutor at Yale. Taft, after graduating from Yale, went to attend the University of Cincinnati Law School from 1878 to 1880. He became a lawyer in Cincinnati after receiving his law degree. He became a judge in 1887 (Kelly, Martin). In 1890, Benjamin Harrison chose him as solicitor general of the United States. Taft had a lot of experience before becoming president. In 1904, Taft's close friend Theodore Roosevelt appointed Taft secretary of war, where he later became a close advisor and friend to the president. In 1908, Taft was with Roosevelt at his side and was nominated as a presidential candidate. He became the Republican candidate; James Sherman was his vice president. The Republicans, with Roosevelt's help, nominated Taft in 1908. Taft strongly disliked political campaigns and did not want to be president in the first place. Taft was not a talented public speaker, and his speeches were generally well-reasoned and emotionless. He described the campaign as one of the most uncomfortable periods of his life. He was faithful to Roosevelt's progressive program, popular middle of paper... in the White House. In addition to Taft's love of milk, he also loved almonds. He ate them whenever he was nervous and was known to eat pounds at a time. Taft was also the first president to become chief justice of the Supreme Court. Although Taft did not want to become president, he would have preferred to remain a lawyer, he was a good president overall, and he had many accomplishments. Works Cited William Howard Taft - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. , nd Web, May 5, 2011. "William Howard Taft | The White House." The White House. Np, nd Web. May 5, 2011. Kelly, Martin. "Biography of William Howard Taft - Twenty-seventh President of the United States." American History From About. Np, nd Web. May 5. 2011.