You could argue that the two most powerful figures in America are the President and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Only one man has been both, William Howard Taft.

Unfortunately, our 27th president and 10th Chief Justice

is mostly remembered for being well fat. And that's a shame because the focus on

his weight has obscured a career that was as impressive as it was singular.

Tath was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in September 15th, 1857.

There was never any doubt that William would become an attorney. His grandfather,

Peter Taft, was a prominent lawyer in Vermont, and his father, Alfonso Taft, served as attorney general

under President Ulysses S Grant.

To his father's endless frustration, young William was a notorious

procrastinator, a trait that lasted a lifetime.

He would wait until the last minute to prepare his school work and later on his law cases.

But that's all the time he needed because when it counted he was always prepared.

In 1880, after graduating from Yale, Taft took a degree in law.

With some help from his father, he got a job as an assistant prosecutor in Cincinnati.

He rose quickly to become a judge in 1887. He was only 29. In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison

appointed him as America's solicitor general, serving in effect as the government's lead

attorney.

TAF thrived into position, winning 15 out of 18 cases before the US Supreme Court.

In 1892 he returned to Cincinnati as a federal judge.

His ultimate ambition, a seat on the High Court, seemed to be within his grasp.

When President William McKinley summoned him to the White House in 1900. Taff thought his dream

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