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 The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

baseball teams. From 1895 to 1897, he served one term in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Early life

Taft was born on December 21, 1843, in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. He was the eldest child born to Fanny Phelps (1823–1852) and

Alphonso Taft Alphonso Taft (November 5, 1810 – May 21, 1891) was an American jurist, diplomat, and politician who served as United States Attorney General and Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was also the founder of the Taft political d ...

(1810–1891). His father served as the 34th

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

and 31st

United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Sec ...

, both under President

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

. Among his younger half-brothers was

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

(1857–1930), the 27th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

and 10th

Chief Justice of the United States The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...

, and

Horace Dutton Taft Horace Dutton Taft (December 28, 1861 – January 28, 1943) was an American educator, and the founder of The Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. Early life He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the younger brother of William How ...

(1861–1943), the founder of

The Taft School The Taft School is a private coeducational school located in Watertown, Connecticut, United States. It enrolls approximately 600 students in grades 9–12. Overview History The school was founded in 1890 as Mr. Taft's School (renamed to ...

Watertown, Connecticut Watertown is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 22,105 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Waterbury. The urban center of the town is the Wat ...

, to which he donated $150,000 in 1929. His maternal grandfather was Judge Charles Phelps, of

Townshend, Vermont Townshend is a New England town, town in Windham County, Vermont, Windham County, Vermont, United States. The town was named for the Townshend family, powerful figures in British politics. The population was 1,291 at the 2020 United States Census, ...

, and his paternal grandparents were

Peter Rawson Taft Peter Rawson Taft (April 14, 1785 – January 1, 1867) was an American lawyer, judge, and legislator. His son Alphonso Taft served as the United States Secretary of War, U.S. Secretary of War (1876), and United States Attorney General, U.S. Attor ...

(1785–1867) of the

Taft family The Taft family is an American political family of English descent, with origins in Massachusetts. Its members have served in the states of Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont, and the United States federal government, in variou ...

and Sylvia (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Howard) Taft. He was the uncle of Robert Alphonso Taft and

Charles Phelps Taft II Charles Phelps Taft II (September 20, 1897 – June 24, 1983) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1955 to 1957. Like other members of his family, Taft was a Republican for the purposes of statewide electio ...

, and the granduncle of

Robert Taft Jr. Robert Alphonso Taft Jr. (February 26, 1917 – December 7, 1993) was an American politician. He was a member of the Taft family who served as a Republican Representative from Ohio between 1963 and 1965, as well as between 1967 and 1971. Taf ...

He was educated at the

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

, graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1864, and from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

's law department in 1866. In 1867, he received another degree from the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

Career

Following his graduation from Columbia Law School, he was admitted to the bar, and became a partner in the law firm of Sage, Haacke & Taft. He remained with the firm until he left to study abroad in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. After returning from Germany, he resumed the practice of law in 1869 with General Edward F. Noyes, who later served as U.S. Minister to France and the 30th

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, at which point Taft was elected to the

Ohio State Legislature The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus ...

. Ten years later in 1879, he became editor of the '' Cincinnati Times-Star'', which would later be bought by the ''

Cincinnati Post ''The Cincinnati Post'' was an afternoon daily newspaper published in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. In Northern Kentucky, it was bundled inside a local edition called ''The Kentucky Post''. The ''Post'' was a founding publication and onetim ...

''. This began the Taft media empire, which was his main claim to fame.

United States Congress

In 1895, he went to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

as a Republican succeeding Bellamy Storer, but served only two years from March 4, 1895, until March 3, 1897. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1896 to the Fifty-fifth Congress, and his seat was taken by William B. Shattuc. After retiring from Congress, he returned to the newspaper business. Taft was a

presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

in the 1904 presidential election.

Baseball team ownership

In 1905, Taft became a minority owner of the

when Charles Murphy purchased the club. In 1909, Taft and Murphy funded

Horace Fogel Horace Solomon Fogel (March 2, 1861 – November 15, 1928) was an American Major League Baseball manager and executive who served as manager of the Indianapolis Hoosiers and New York Giants and president of the Philadelphia Phillies. Early ...

's purchase of the

. The pair publicly denied that they had purchased a second club, but did acknowledge that Taft was the owner of Philadelphia's National League Park. After Fogel received a lifetime ban from baseball in 1912, Taft sold the Phillies to William H. Locke. In 1914, Murphy sold his stock in the Cubs to Taft, who named Charles H. Thomas, the secretary under Murphy, as the new club president. Taft sold the Cubs to

Charles Weeghman Charles Henry Weeghman (March 8, 1874 – November 1, 1938) was an American restaurant entrepreneur and sports executive. Beginning in 1901, he began opening quick-service lunch counters throughout downtown Chicago. After failing to acquire the ...

, with some financial backing from

William Wrigley Jr. William Mills Wrigley Jr. (September 30, 1861 – January 26, 1932) was an American chewing gum industrialist. He founded the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 1891. Biography William Mills Wrigley Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvani ...

, after the 1915 season. In 1916, Taft sold his interest in

West Side Park West Side Park was the name used for two different ballparks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. They were both home fields of the team now known as the Chicago Cubs of the National League (baseball), National League. Both ballparks hoste ...

and National League Park to Murphy.

Personal life

On December 4, 1873, Taft was married to Anna Sinton (1850–1931), who was an heiress to a

pig iron Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate good used by the iron industry in the production of steel. It is developed by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with si ...

fortune, left by her father, David Sinton. Together with her husband, she began an art collection, which she opened to the public from their home. Today, their former home is the

Taft Museum of Art The Taft Museum of Art is a fine art collection in Cincinnati, Ohio. It occupies the 200-year-old historic house at 316 Pike Street. The house – the oldest domestic wooden structure in downtown Cincinnati – was built about 1820 and housed ...

. Anna and Taft had four children, who were: * Jane Ellison Taft (1874–1962): firstborn child and eldest daughter of Charles Taft and Anna Sinton; married Albert S. Ingalls, the son of railroad executive Melville E. Ingalls, in 1929. * David Sinton Taft (1876–1891): second-born child of Charles Taft and Anna Sinton, and grandson of David Sinton; died in his Cincinnati home at the age of 15 due to

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often th ...

. * Anna Louise Taft Semple (1879–1961) * Charles Howard Taft (1885–1931). Taft died on December 31, 1929, in

, where he was buried at

Spring Grove Cemetery Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. At a size of 733 acres (2.97 km2), it is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverto ...

. He left an estate valued at $6,367,374.

Descendants

Through his daughter Jane, he was the grandfather of First World War flying ace

David Sinton Ingalls David Sinton Ingalls (January 28, 1899 – April 26, 1985) was the US Navy's only flying ace of World War I, with six credited victories; thus he was the first ace in US Navy history. Early life Ingalls was born on January 28, 1899, in Clevela ...

(1899–1985), who married Louise Hale Harkness, daughter of

William L. Harkness William Lamon Harkness (August 8, 1858 – May 10, 1919) was an American businessman and inheritor of a large share of Standard Oil. Early life William Lamon Harkness was born in Bellevue, Ohio, the son of Daniel M. Harkness, who was the half-b ...

and granddaughter of

Daniel M. Harkness Daniel M. Harkness (September 26, 1822 – August 5, 1896) was an American merchant and businessman in Ohio. He played a role in the formation of Standard Oil in Ohio. His older half-brother Stephen V. Harkness and younger half-brother Henry M. F ...

, who was instrumental in the formation of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

. He was also the grandfather of Anne Taft Ingalls, who married Rupert E. L. Warburton, "a scion of one of England's oldest families," in 1929. His nephew,

who served as Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1955 to 1957 was named after him.

Legacy

Following his death, Annie (Anna) Sinton Taft donated $5 million to the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

in 1930 and established a memorial fund after his name. This fund was transformed in 2005 into the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center at the University of Cincinnati. The city of

Taft, Texas Taft is a city in San Patricio County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,801 at the 2020 census. History Taft, often called the "Friendliest Cotton-Pickin' Town in Texas", is not only rich in cotton, but also gas and oil resources. Taf ...

was named after him in 1904.Texas State Historical Association
/ref> His art collection was said to be the most valuable in the West in 1908. He owned at least two works each of

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; 16 July 1796 – 22 February 1875), or simply Camille Corot, was a French Landscape art, landscape and Portraitist, portrait painter as well as a printmaking, printmaker in etching. A pivotal figure in ...

Jean-François Millet Jean-François Millet (; 4 October 1814 – 20 January 1875) was a French artist and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his paintings of peasant farmers and can be categorized as part of the Realis ...

and

Ernest Meissonier Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (; 21 February 181531 January 1891) was a French academic painter and sculptor. He became famous for his depictions of Napoleon and his military sieges and manoeuvres in paintings acclaimed both for the artist's mas ...

, many pieces of fine Chinese porcelain, '' Portrait of a Man Rising from His Chair'' by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, ''The Tompkinson Boys'' by

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (; 14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists o ...

, and ''

The Cobbler's Apprentice ''The Cobbler's Apprentice'' is a painting by the American painter Frank Duveneck, painted in 1877. It hangs in the Taft Museum of Art of Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The oil on canvas portrait measures and it is signed by the artist. Duv ...

'' by

Frank Duveneck Frank Duveneck (né Decker; October 9, 1848 – January 3, 1919) was an American figure and portrait painter. Early life Duveneck was born in Covington, Kentucky, the son of German immigrant Bernhard Decker. Decker died in a cholera epidemic whe ...

, as well as paintings by

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

Frans Hals Frans Hals the Elder (, ; ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter. He lived and worked in Haarlem, a city in which the local authority of the day frowned on religious painting in places of worship but citizens liked to decorate thei ...

Jan Steen Jan Havickszoon Steen ( – buried 3 February 1679) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, one of the leading genre painters of the 17th century. His works are known for their psychological insight, sense of humour and abundance of colour. Life ...

Meindert Hobbema Meindert Lubbertszoon Hobbema (bapt. 31 October 1638 – 7 December 1709) was a Dutch Golden Age painter of landscapes, specializing in views of woodland, although his most famous painting, ''The Avenue at Middelharnis'' (1689, National Galler ...

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...

Joshua Reynolds Sir Joshua Reynolds (16 July 1723 – 23 February 1792) was an English painter who specialised in portraits. The art critic John Russell (art critic), John Russell called him one of the major European painters of the 18th century, while Lucy P ...

and

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...

Sources

External links

*
Article mentioning himTaft Research Center at the University of CincinnatiFinding Aid for Charles Phelps Taft Memorial Fund files
Archives and Rare Books Library, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio
Documenting the Gilded Age: New York City Exhibitions at the Turn of the 20th Century
A

New York Art Resources Consortium The New York Art Resources Consortium (NYARC) consists of the research libraries of three leading art museums in New York City: The Brooklyn Museum, The Frick Collection, and The Museum of Modern Art. With funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundatio ...

project. Loan exhibition catalog, exhibition catalog, and residence photograph. {{DEFAULTSORT:Taft, Charles 1843 births 1929 deaths Phillips Academy alumni Taft, Charles Phelps American people of English descent Taft, Charles Phelps Columbia Law School alumni Taft, Charles Phelps Heidelberg University alumni Yale University alumni Politicians from Cincinnati Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery Chicago Cubs owners Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Philadelphia Phillies owners 1904 United States presidential electors 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives