Hulbert Taft (September 19, 1877 – January 19, 1959) was an American journalist, publisher, and member of the

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, ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. As editor, publisher, and later, chairman of the board of directors, of the ''

Cincinnati Times-Star ''The Cincinnati Times-Star'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, from 1880 to 1958. The Northern Kentucky edition was known as ''The Kentucky Times-Star'', and a Sunday edition was known as ''The Sunday Times- ...

,'' Taft was an influential figure in local and national politics throughout the first half of the twentieth century. He was a grandson of Alphonso Taft,

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

during the

Grant administration The presidency of Ulysses S. Grant began on March 4, 1869, when Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated as the 18th president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1877. The Reconstruction era took place during Grant's two terms of office. The K ...

; a nephew of President

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

; and cousin of Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft.

Biography

Hulbert Taft was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

, on September 19, 1877. He was the only son of Peter Rawson Taft II (half brother of

) and Annie Matilda Hulbert. Following his graduation from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

in 1900, Taft joined the staff of the ''Cincinnati Times-Star'' as a

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, and became the Editor in 1908. His uncle,

Charles Phelps Taft Charles Phelps Taft (December 21, 1843 – December 31, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician who served as editor of the ''Cincinnati Times-Star'' and owned both the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs baseball teams. From 1895 to 1897 ...

had been the paper's owner and Publisher since 1880. When Charles died in 1929, Hulbert Taft was named Publisher. Among his more noteworthy assignments, were interviews with

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

, in 1929, and later, with

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

. Taft was well known for his

political conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

. The journalist and author John Gunther, in his book ''

Inside U.S.A. ''Inside U.S.A.'' is a musical revue by Arthur Schwartz (music) and Howard Dietz (lyrics). It was loosely based on the book '' Inside U.S.A.'' by John Gunther. Sketches were written by Arnold M. Auerbach, Moss Hart, and Arnold B. Horwitt. P ...

'' referred to Hulbert Taft as the "most conservative man I met in forty-eight states". Taft's editorials and

political endorsement A political endorsement is a public declaration of one's personal or group's support of a candidate for elected office An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with i ...

s published in the ''

'' made him an influential figure in local and national politics for fifty years. Many considered him a "

king maker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a royal or political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious and military means to influence the succession. Origina ...

". Political candidates viewed his endorsements as "tantamount to election". Taft retired as Publisher of the ''

'' in 1954, but remained as

chairman of the board The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of Directors until 1958, when the newspaper was acquired by the E.W. Scripps Company.

Family

Hulbert Taft was married three times. His first marriage to Nellie Phillips Leaman on April 4, 1904, produced four children: Hulbert Taft, Jr.; Katherine Phillips Taft Benedict; Margot Leaman Taft Tytus; and David Gibson Taft. His second marriage was to Nellie's niece, Virginia Kittredge, on July 21, 1928. Eleanor Lawrence Gholson, Taft's third wife, was a distant relative of Virginia's. Their marriage occurred on April 9, 1946.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taft, Hulbert Journalists from Ohio Taft family 1877 births 1959 deaths Old Right (United States)