William Howard Taft: the record and the legends

The record

• RecordTaft weighed over 300 pounds for much of his presidency. With a doctor's help he went on a diet, kept a log of his weight, and lost about 60 pounds. Then a lot of it came back.Source: National Park Service, William Howard Taft National Historic Site
• RecordAt Yale, Taft was the intramural heavyweight wrestling champion. The National Wrestling Hall of Fame counts him among the wrestling presidents.Source: National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Presidents Have Long Wrestling History
• RecordIn 1910 Taft threw out the first pitch at an opening day game in Washington. Presidents have been doing it ever since.Source: White House Historical Association, President Taft Throws the First Pitch
• RecordTaft is the only person who was both president and chief justice of the United States. He said later that the court was the job he'd always wanted.Source: National Constitution Center, Taft's Truly Historic Double

The legends

• LegendPeople still say Taft got stuck in a White House bathtub. There's no good evidence it happened. What is true: a giant tub, big enough for four grown men to sit in, was made for him.Source: White House Historical Association

What he cared about

• Breaking up monopolies. His administration brought more antitrust cases than Theodore Roosevelt's did.
• The courts and the law. He trusted judges more than politicians to settle big questions.
• Using trade and investment to build influence abroad, which people called dollar diplomacy.

Questions about William Howard Taft