Kingsley Arter Taft (July 19, 1903March 28, 1970) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and distant relative of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

's more famous

Taft family The Taft family of the United States has historic origins in Massachusetts; its members have served Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Utah, and the United States in various positions such as U.S. Representative (two), Governor of Ohio, G ...

. He served as chief justice of the

Ohio Supreme Court The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...

and also served briefly as a

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

. Kingsley's father,

Frederick Lovett Taft, II Frederick Lovett Taft (December 1, 1870 - April 7, 1913) was an American lawyer and judge in Ohio. A member of the Taft family and a distant relative of President William Howard Taft, he was one of the leading political and legal men of the city ...

was also a noted figure in the

legal profession.

Biography

Taft was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, to Frederick L. and Mary Alice ( Arter) Taft. He graduated from

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

there and received a bachelor's degree from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

, where he was a member of

Phi Kappa Psi Phi Kappa Psi (), commonly known as Phi Psi, is an American collegiate social fraternity that was founded by William Henry Letterman and Charles Page Thomas Moore in Widow Letterman's home on the campus of Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pen ...

, in 1925. He received a law degree from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1928. Taft then practiced as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

in Ohio. He rose to a partnership in the law firm that would eventually become Arter and Hadden. Taft served in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

from 1933 to 1934 and then in 1940, he was elected to the

Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the city's limits. In July 1911, ...

board of education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

on which he served until 1942, the last year as president. He served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, eventually rising to the rank of Major. In 1946, when U.S. Senator

Harold H. Burton Harold Hitz Burton (June 22, 1888 – October 28, 1964) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Stat ...

(R-Ohio) resigned in order to accept an appointment to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, the vacancy was filled by a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...

. In that election Taft ran and defeated

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Henry P. Webber. Taft served out Burton's term, which expired in 1947. He also served with distant family member

Robert A. Taft Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate Majority Leade ...

during his 4-month tenure, and did not run for election to the next full term. In 1948, he was elected to a judgeship on the

, defeating Democrat

Robert M. Sohngen Robert Mason Sohngen (July 16, 1887 – June 4, 1953) was a lawyer from Hamilton, Ohio who was a justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio 1947-1948, as well as serving in other local, state and federal positions. Biography Robert M. Sohngen was born ...

. In 1954, he was re-elected to the position without opposition. In 1960, Taft defeated Joseph H. Ellison for a third term on the Supreme Court, but in 1962, Taft decided to run for

Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court Bold indicates chief judge or chief justice. The Ohio Supreme Court was created by the Ohio Constitution of 1802 with three judges, and had three or four through 1851. In 1851, the number of judges was increased to five. In 1892, the number of jud ...

. Taft then beat Democratic incumbent Carl V. Weygandt. Weygant, who was 74 years old and seeking a 6th term, lost by a margin of less than 1,600 votes, out of more than 2.6 million votes cast. In 1968, Taft was re-elected Chief Justice of the Court, defeating Democrat John C. Duffy, but died in office two years after his last election in 1970.

Personal life

Taft met his wife Louise Dakin at college. They were married September 14, 1927. They had four sons. Taft was buried at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gil ...

References

Bibliography

External links

Encyclopedia of Baldwin Wallace University History: Kingsley Taft
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taft, Kingsley A. 1903 births 1970 deaths Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives United States Army officers Taft family Harvard Law School alumni Amherst College alumni American people of English descent Politicians from Cleveland Chief Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court Republican Party United States senators from Ohio Politicians from Shaker Heights, Ohio Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American judges 20th-century American politicians