Changes

A third generation of the Taft family entered the national political stage in 1938. The former President's oldest son, [[Robert Taft]], was elected to the United States Senate from Ohio.  His other son, Charles Phelps Taft II, served as mayor of Cincinnati. Two more generations of the Taft family later entered politics. The President's grandson, Robert Taft Jr., served a term as a Senator from Ohio from 1971-1977; the President's great-grandson, Bob Taft, served as the [[governor of Ohio]] from [[1999]] - [[2007]]. [[William Howard Taft III]] was U.S. [[Ambassador (diplomacy)|ambassador]] to [[Ireland (state)|Ireland]] from 1953 to 1957.  [[William Howard Taft IV]], currently in private law practice, was general counsel in the former [[Department of Health, Education, and Welfare]] in the 1970s, Deputy Secretary of Defense under [[Casper Weinberger]] and [[Frank Carlucci]] in the 1980s, and and acted as Secretary of Defense during the vacancy of January-March 1989. In addition, he was a high-level official in the [[United States Department of State]] from 2000 to 2006.

A third generation of the Taft family entered the national political stage in 1938. The former President's oldest son, [[Robert Taft]], was elected to the United States Senate from Ohio.  His other son, Charles Phelps Taft II, served as mayor of Cincinnati. Two more generations of the Taft family later entered politics. The President's grandson, Robert Taft Jr., served a term as a Senator from Ohio from 1971-1977; the President's great-grandson, Bob Taft, served as the [[governor of Ohio]] from [[1999]] - [[2007]]. [[William Howard Taft III]] was U.S. [[Ambassador (diplomacy)|ambassador]] to [[Ireland (state)|Ireland]] from 1953 to 1957.  [[William Howard Taft IV]], currently in private law practice, was general counsel in the former [[Department of Health, Education, and Welfare]] in the 1970s, Deputy Secretary of Defense under [[Casper Weinberger]] and [[Frank Carlucci]] in the 1980s, and and acted as Secretary of Defense during the vacancy of January-March 1989. In addition, he was a high-level official in the [[United States Department of State]] from 2000 to 2006.

==Personality==

==Personality==

Taft was severely overweight; legend says he became stuck in the bathtub in the White House several times, prompting the installation of a new bathtub capable of holding all of the men who installed it, something the White House denied until the bathtub was torn out years later. At 6 feet, and weighing over 350 pounds (159 kg), Taft is the heaviest person to be President, although Jefferson, Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Bill Clinton were taller.  While being governor of the Philippines, Taft one day sent a message to [[Washington, D.C.]] that read "Went on a horseride today; feeling good." Secretary of War at the time [[Elihu Root]] sent a reply message that read "How's the horse?"<ref. See [http://www.cceia.org/resources/transcripts/5029.html quote]</ref>

Taft was severely overweight; legend says he became stuck in the bathtub in the White House several times, prompting the installation of a new bathtub capable of holding all of the men who installed it, something the White House denied. At 6 feet, and weighing over 350 pounds (159 kg), Taft is the heaviest person to be President, although Jefferson, Lincoln, Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Clinton were taller.  While governor of the Philippines, Taft one day sent a message that read "Went on a horseride today; feeling good." Secretary of War [[Elihu Root]] replied, "How's the horse?"<ref. See [http://www.cceia.org/resources/transcripts/5029.html quote]</ref>

Taft was an avid golfer and also a baseball fan, but contrary to myth he did not create the seventh-inning stretch, which was custom decades earlier. He was, however, the first American president to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game, April 14, 1910.

Taft was an avid golfer and also a baseball fan, but contrary to myth he did not create the seventh-inning stretch, which was custom decades earlier. He was, however, the first American president to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game, April 14, 1910.