Health and Medical History of President

William Taft

President #27: 1909-1913
Lived 1857-1930
"My dear, all I have to do to beat the Vice President is to live." 1a MORE
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Health and Medical History of President

William Taft

President #27: 1909-1913
Lived 1857-1930
Lived 1857-1930 2023 1776
Revolutionary War
1776-1783
War of 1812
1812-1815
Mexican-American War
1846-1848
Civil War
1861-1865
Spanish-American War
1898-1899
World War 1
1917-1918
World War 2
1941-1945
Korean War
1950-1953
Viet Nam War
1964-1975
Desert Storm
1990-1991
Bush's Wars
2001-2021
"My dear, all I have to do to beat the Vice President is to live." 1a MORE

Maladies & Conditions  · wagon accident · sunburn · typhoid fever · severe obesity · generally abstained · perineal abscess · food poisoning #1 · food poisoning #2 · heartburn · voice strain #1 · sleep apnea · cold · bug injures eye · wife's stroke · horse fall · lumbago · gout · cold · strong · voice strain #2 · car accidents · hypertension · pink eye · motion sick · headache/ TMJ · bald spot sunburn · cold · mosquito netting · constipation? · minor trauma · cried in office · writers' ache · digestive ill · car accident · atrial fibrillation · "internal inflammation" · prostate · achy knee · mental decline · wearing out

Odds & Ends · Doctors · Resources · Cited Sources

Maladies and Conditions
wagon accident
At age 9, he suffered a slight skull fracture and a bad cut on the head when the horses drawing the family carriage ran off. 2a For the rest of his life he carried "a deep depression" in his skull 3a. There was speculation this injury damaged Taft's pituitary gland and caused his obesity 4a, but this is unlikely because: (1) Taft was big from birth 2b MORE and (2) throughout his life, Taft's weight generally paralleled his unhappiness 2c 5a 6a.
sunburn
As a child, Taft used to go swimming in a Cincinnati canal. A year before his death, he wrote: "I remember one occasion... when the sun was very hot and... the next day my back was so burned that I had to have a doctor and remain in bed.... I am sure that an examination of my back will still show the freckles that were the result of that day's excursion." 2d Taft had fair skin, blue eyes and light hair 2e.
typhoid fever
Forty years after the event, Taft wrote that he and his brothers came down with typhoid fever after a visit to Middle Bass Island when he was about 10. His casual tone in the letter suggests it was not a severe illness 7a.
severe obesity
"Not much can be said about Taft's health without saying a great deal about his size" 6b. Taft was 5 feet 11.5 inches tall 8. He weighed 243 pounds when he graduated from college 2c and, by all accounts, carried it well. By age 48, when he had been Secretary of War for two years, he weighed 320 pounds 2f. Under the guidance of English physician Dr. N. E. Yorke-Davies, he lost 70 pounds over the next year and a half 2f. But two years after that, he was once again over 300 pounds MORE. He weighed 335-340 pounds when he left the White House [see photo MORE ]. He then lost weight rapidly, dropping to 270 in a year and a half. The summer before he died, he weighed 244 pounds, just one pound more than his college weight. Details and graphs are available on the Apneos web site and in reference 9.

Taft was big almost from birth. It's clear, however, that he had an enormous appetite. MORE

Taft's size impressed some people, but often made him the butt of jokes MORE. Note: Judged solely by body mass index, a 5-foot 11-inch person weighing more than 290 pounds is severely obese.

Be careful. The web has much information about Taft's body size, a great deal of it stemming from an unfortunate error-filled article in a medical journal in 2013 10 that Dr. Zebra took pains to refute 11. Taft was not 6-feet 2-inches tall and there is no record he ever weighed more than 340 pounts.

generally abstained
Taft did not smoke. In college, he drank, if at all, only an occasional glass of beer. 2g During Taft's first year in office, his aide wrote 1b:
The President never takes anything to drink at all, but is most profligate in making others imbibe. I do not see how he sits through these long dinners and banquets without taking enough merely to exhilarate him, but he takes no alcoholic liquors of any kind and seems to be much the better for it.
Taft became a teetotaller in 1906, three years before becoming President. 12a MORE
perineal abscess
Taft lived in Manila as Governor of the Philippines from 1900 to 1903. In September 1901 he developed a fever and was diagnosed (probably incorrectly) with dengue. In early October he developed abdominal pain. Late that month, an abscess in the perineum ruptured. After an emergency operation, he was near death for several days, but recovered. A second operation was necessary in late November 1901, and the need for a third became apparent in February 1902 MORE. In March 1903 he developed amoebic dysentery and was forced to bed MORE leading some to believes the original abscess was amoebic 6c.
food poisoning #1
On September 24, 1905, Taft wrote his wife from Japan: "We had an informal dinner given by the President of the Tea Guild ... and whatever the cause, we were all made sick so that the next morning there were twelve of us who had to report being roused in the night with a diarrhoea and in some cases cramp and colic" 7b.
food poisoning #2
Taft was Secretary of War in June 1907. During a cross-country speaking and inspection tour that month, he ate some bad fish at the Minneapolis Club in Minnesota. He had diarrhea and "violent" vomiting at 4 am and 7 am the next morning. Nevertheless, Taft continued with activities the next day. He almost collapsed doing so, and was given whiskey as stimulant, which prompted only "a renewal of my troubles" 7c MORE. The episode was sufficiently alarming that it elicited letters of concern from President Theodore Roosevelt and Roosevelt's White House physician 13a.
heartburn
In the first days of his remarkable diet at the end of 1905, Taft wrote "I used to suffer from acidity of the stomach, and I suppose that was due to overloading it. Since I have undertaken this diet I have not suffered from it at all." 7d

Taft became non-compliant with his diet within a few years and his problem returned. In May 1908 he wrote his wife: "I have quit eating bacon in the morning for breakfast. I believe it gives me acidity of the stomach, and it is one of the most difficult things to digest I believe there are, if you take it as any substantial part of the meal. At least when I give it up, I cease to have trouble in the forenoon." 7e

voice strain #1
Before the era of microphones and loudspeakers, political candidates had to make their voice heard to crowds numbering into the thousands. In the 1908 Presidential campaign, Taft wrote friends and family no fewer than five times about his voice MORE. He sometimes traveled with a throat specialist, a Dr. Richardson 7f. Taft described the treatments of Dr. Richardson and others as "he blew me out" and speculated "I fancy these fellows put some cocaine in their treatment" 7c. Finally, on election night 1908, "Taft went out to acknowledge the greeting. His voice was hoarse and the lines of his face were deeply etched in the glare of the torches. He was utterly tired." 2h Taft also strained his voice while President (see below).

Taft's voice, by the way, was tenor. This startled audiences who expected a deep bass from so big a man 14a.

sleep apnea
The definitive website describing William Howard Taft and sleep apnea is sponsored by Apneos Corporation. Taft had severe sleep apnea throughout his Presidency, and it impaired his performance in office 9.
cold
May 1, 1909: Taft caught a bad cold that lasted several days 1c. MORE It was the first event in a terrible month for him.
bug injures eye
May 8, 1909: "The President certainly has bad luck these days of spring. No sooner did his fever and cold leave him sufficiently for him to resume his exercise and horseback riding than a bug flew in his eye and injured that feature so badly that he has now been laid up with it for several days and has to wear a bandage over it" 1d.
wife's stroke
May 17, 1909: In the morning, Taft's young son Charlie endured a bloody adenoid operation. Later that day his wife suffered a stroke, rendering her unable to speak. "The President looked like a great stricken animal. I have never seen greater suffering or pain shown on a man's face" 1e. Presaging the cover-up of President Woodrow Wilson's stroke, word of the event was kept from the public. Taft kept all his appointments 15a and Mrs. Taft's sisters became White House hostesses 16a. MORE
horse fall
May 18, 1909: despite his wife's stroke, Taft went horseback riding, which he did almost every day while President 1f. On this day, his aide recorded 1g:
The President was thrown from his horse this afternoon, but luckily not hurt. I am sure he is bruised and that he will be very sore to-morrow, but it was lucky that he was not killed. MORE
Taft had other problems with horses during his political career, including (1) the famous telegram from Secretary of War Elihu Root (see below) and (2) an angry exchange with his military aide at the Grand Canyon when Taft wanted to ride a horse down the trail into the Canyon. The aide, who "had no idea of letting him run the risk of breaking his neck and imposing the Vice President on the country as the Chief Executive," finally persuaded Taft it was not wise 1h. MORE
lumbago
Occurred in early September 1909. The chief result was to slow down the President's golf game 1i.
gout
Taft had gout attacks in both feet. His first attack may have been after shaking hands with thousands of people in Pocatello, Idaho in September 1909 (age 53). Taft wrote that he "developed a pain in the joint of the [right] big toe due I suppose to standing so long when shaking hands in one position. Doctor suspects a little gout, but this [is] too aristocratic for me" 7g.

Within ten months, Taft had become very sensitive about the possibility he had gout, and tried hard to conceal the fact from his wife. He got angry at people who suggested his foot pain was gouty. The dialog between Taft and the physician who finally made the definitive diagnosis is priceless. MORE Taft's aides actively hid the gout from the public during his Presidency 1j. Taft continued to have attacks as President 17a and in later life wore a gout shoe 15b. He also developed gout stones in his urinary bladder (see below).

cold
Oct. 3, 1909: "I am still suffering from my cold, but I am hopeful that tomorrow and the rest of today may save my voice. I had no difficulty n making seven thousand people hear in the Armory last night" 7h.
strong
Although Taft was a 320-pound middle-aged man, his physical strength repeatedly surprised others. MORE For example, while visiting Yosemite National Park in October 1909, Taft and John Muir walked the four mile, 3242-foot descent from Glacier Point down to the floor of the Yosemite Valley. They quickly outdistanced the rest of the party, many of whom rode horseback. (The horse provided for Taft had appeared unequal to the President's bulk, so Taft was advised to walk.) Taft wrote: "While I am tired from the open air exercise, I feel greatly the better for it." 18a 7i

Taft was drenched with perspiration when he reached the Valley floor. His luggage was hours away, and there was no one within a hundred pounds of being able to lend him their clothes. "So while his clothes dried, the President went to bed and the affairs of State languished!" 18a.

voice strain #2
Taft toured the entire country from September through November 1909, making speeches frequently. In Houston on Oct. 23 "The speaking platform was too high above the people, and the number of them was so great and my effort to make them hear so strenuous, that I strained my vocal chords, and haven't yet recovered their use" 7j. He continued making speeches, however, including four in St. Louis on the 25th. At a morning speech in the St. Louis Coliseum, "my voice was in bad condition, but from what people tell me I was able to make myself heard." At his lunchtime speech "my voice had become so husky as to make it almost impossible." And by the time of a building dedication in the afternoon "my voice was in such condition as to make what I said very short and very formal and perfunctory." 7k Over the next few days his voice started to recover 7l 7m. By Nov. 2, "My voice, while a bit rough, I am able to use with effect even in the open air" 7n.

During subsequent cross-country trips, sometimes giving 17 speeches a day, Taft wrote his wife almost daily about his voice (Sept. 17 - Oct. 30, 1911; May 13 - 19, 1912). 2i

car accidents
Taft was the first sitting President to use automobiles regularly. And he was nearly the first President killed in a car accident. In March 1910 Taft's car was struck by a trolley in New York City and carried a half-block down Eighth Avenue. No one was hurt, but the President was shaken 17b.

Taft had several other mishaps in cars and trains during his public life MORE.

hypertension
Dr. James Marsh Jackson found that Taft's systolic blood pressure was 210 mmHg in 1910 7o. At that time, Taft's weight was near its peak as was, presumably, the severity of his sleep apnea. By 1926 his blood pressure was 160-165/100 and his weight 60-70 pounds lower 7p.
pink eye
On March 25, 1911, Taft's aide wrote: "The President said he would not got out this afternoon. I passed by the office early in the afternoon and found Senator Crane there. I told him that the President was not coming over and asked him to go to the house, as Mr. Taft was laid up with pink eye and would welcome a visitor" 1k.
motion sick
Taft and his party got "pale and green" during a high speed train journey on June 7, 1911. Being aboard the last car of the train, they were, Taft's aide wrote, "switched around as if we were the end of a cat's tail. We were ill just as if we had been turned topsy-turvy at sea" 1l.
headache/ TMJ
"Without exercise for two days and three meals a day, on the two days' cruise, I developed a headache which the exercises and the [illegible] drove away" 7q.

It is unclear if this was related to events Taft described to his wife three weeks later:

I had an attack of neuralgia in the side of my face especially in the region where the lower jaw hinges on the upper jaw. At first I thought it to be a tooth but I satisfied myself that this could not be. I called in Doctor Dr. Davis who is Dr. DeLaney's assistant and he gave me some medicine which seems to have moderated the pain much. It was difficult for me to eat and that you know is a terrible deprivation for me. 7r
The attack lasted about two days.
bald spot sunburn
In Leavenworth, Kansas: "Got my bald head sunburned in heat which has been fierce today" 7s.
cold
Taft had a cold in late November 1911, causing him to cancel a trip to Richmond 1m.
mosquito netting
It appears that mosquito netting was routinely used in the White House: "Will Herron complained somewhat of the mosquitoes last night, and I see evidences of them against the netting. I don't know whether we have any mosquito bars or not. I think we used to have" 7t. (Mosquito bars are frames on which mosquito netting can be draped.)
constipation?
"The doctor came and gave me some Epsom salts this morning at six o'clock, and it has given me a stomach ache. This sort of drenching is necessary but it is not always comfortable, and it may require me to cut short this letter" 7u. Comment: Epsom salts are magnesium sulfate. When taken orally, magnesium sulfate induces diarrhea. This may have been the "drenching" Taft referred to, and would explain why he might have to cut short the letter!
minor trauma
Almost every night, Taft's military aide, Major Archibald Butt, would write a letter to his sister-in-law. Published after the death of Taft 1, these unique and honest letters provide a window into even the smallest parts of a President's life. Poor Butt, who died on the Titanic, spares not even himself when he relates how he slammed a car door on the President's hand and, on another occasion, drove a golf ball into the President's thigh MORE.
cried in office
On at least two occasions during Taft's presidency, events reduced him to tears. Both, of course, involved politics, which Taft detested, and the 1912 campaign in particular. MORE
writers' ache
Here is how Taft ended his presidency on March 3, 1913 2j: "His final task was to sign his name, again and again, to satisfy the thousands of requests for his autograph. He did this for hours, until midnight came and the muscles of his hands were weary. Then he went to bed, only to worry and toss because so many autographs remained to be scribbled. So he arose at two-thirty and worked for another half hour."
digestive ill
Taft embarked on a speaking tour of the West on August 1, 1917, but got only as far as Clay Center, Kansas. On August 7 he cabled his wife: "In bed with acute digestion [sic]. Hope to be out tomorrow but it may be prolonged" 7v. A week later he was finally able to travel. He returned to his summer home in Quebec and later wrote: "There is no fool like an old fool. [I went out to speak 30 times in 30 days and broke down.] Fortunately, my digestive apparatus seems to be recovering its normal status" 7w.
car accident
In 1921 Taft's car skidded on a Washington street in a rainstorm and his knees were badly bruised 15c. It is not clear if Taft was driving (or even knew how to drive) 19. It is also unclear if this incident led to his "rheumatic" knee, described below.
atrial fibrillation
On July 10, 1913, Taft developed a fainting feeling while playing golf, and had to sit down 7x, The episode was blamed on his aggressive dieting. In retrospect, it may have been the first episode of atrial fibrillation, which became fully manifest circa 1923 7y in the paroxysmal form. By August 1924 he was taking three digitalis pills a day 7z. It is possible, but unclear, that he was chronically in atrial fibrillation by September 1926 7aa. His blood pressure at this time was 160-165/100 and his heart rate 50-55/minute and irregular 7p.
"internal inflammation"
On April 27, 1923 Taft wrote to his brother that he was suffering from an "internal inflammation." He ascribed this to the hard work he was doing 2k. It is unclear what this condition was.
prostate
"He had been having trouble with his prostate gland and this had been relieved by treatment" in early 1913 2l.

In December 1922 "the Chief Justice told his relatives and friends about a brief period of hospitalization in which gravel had been removed from his bladder" 2k. These were "30 or 40 calculi or uric acid origin" 7ab, i.e. a complication of gout.

Shortly before he died in 1930, it was disclosed that Taft had chronic cystitis 14b

achy knee
Taft visited King George V of England in 1922. Taft was please the King let him sit. Otherwise, "it would have been a very great strain ... because my knee is rheumatic" 2m.
mental decline
Taft was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1923 -- the only President ever to serve on the high court. As early as 1925, however, Taft noticed that he was slowing down mentally. He noticed it more as the years passed. As Chief Justice, he administered the oath of office at President Hoover's inauguration in March 1929, but became confused about his lines and had to improvise. Although his general health declined, Taft was his normal alert self as December 1929 ended. By the end of January 1930 he was hallucinating. By the end of February 1930 he was intermittently comatose. He was dead on March 8 2n 14c. MORE

Some believe Taft had Alzheimer disease 6a. But, given his coronary disease (see below), it is likely he had cerebrovascular disease, too.

wearing out
In his fifties Taft developed signs of "hardening of the arteries" accompanied by a rising blood pressure 14d 15d. His exercise tolerance decreased, and an elevator was installed in his house 2o. By his mid-sixties, exertional angina and breathlessness limited his ability to travel 2k 14d. Taft berated himself for the poor care he had taken of himself 2k.

By spring 1929, when he was 71, it was widely known that Taft's health was not good. Rumors occasionally arose that he might retire 2p. Sick as he was, Taft desperately wanted to hold his place on the Supreme Court. "I am older and slower and less acute and more confused," he wrote to his brother in November 1929. "However, as long as things continue as they are, and I am able to answer in my place, I must stay on the court in order to prevent the Bolsheviki from getting control." 2q

Taft finally resigned from the Supreme Court on February 3, 1930. Two doctors issued the the following bulletin: "For some years Chief Justice Taft has had a very high blood pressure, associated with general arteriosclerosis and myocarditis. ... He has no fevers and suffers no pain. His present serious condition is the result of general arteriosclerotic changes" 14b. After lingering in a coma, he died on March 8. MORE

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Cited Sources
  1. Butt, Archibald W. Taft and Roosevelt: The Intimate Letters of Archie Butt, Military Aide. Garden City, NY: Doubleday (1930). Volume 1: pages 1-432. Volume 2: pages 433-862.
    a  p.326  b  p.172  c  pp.70,75, 76  d  p.76  e  p.88  f  p.39  g  p.92  h  pp.206-207  i  p.189  j  pp.543  k  p.606  l  p.670  m  pp.764-765

    Comment: Butt, an Army officer, was military aide first to President Theodore Roosevelt and then to President William Taft. On April 14, 1912, Butt was at sea aboard the Titanic returning from a European vacation that Taft had insisted he take. President Taft later said: "When I heard that part of the ship's company had gone down, I gave up hope for the rescue of Major Butt, unless by accident. I knew that he would certainly remain on the ship's deck until every duty had been performed and every sacrifice made that properly fell on one charged, as he would feel himself charged, with responsibility for the rescue of others." Taft was correct. Butt did not survive the sinking.

  2. Pringle, Henry F. The Life and Times of William Howard Taft: A Biography. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1939.
    a  p.24  b  p.3  c  p.1072  d  p.21  e  p.35  f  p.287  g  p.39  h  p.377  i  pp.781, 784  j  p.854  k  p.1073  l  p.857  m  p.1001  n  pp.1074-1078  o  p.963  p  p.1044  q  p.967
  3. Taft, Horace Dutton. Memories and Opinions. New York: Macmillan, 1947.
    a  p.7
  4. Coletta, Paolo E. The Presidency of William Howard Taft. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press, 1973.
    a  p.9
  5. Anderson, Judith Icke. William Howard Taft: An Intimate History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1981.
    a  p.???
  6. Bumgarner, John R. The Health of the Presidents: The 41 United States Presidents Through 1993 from a Physician's Point of View. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland & Company, 1994.
    a  p.172  b  p.167  c  p.168

    Comment: Devotes one chapter to each President, through Clinton. Written for the layperson, well-referenced, with areas of speculation clearly identified, Dr. Zebra depends heavily on this book. Dr. Bumgarner survived the Bataan Death March and has written an unforgettable book casting a physician's eye on that experience.

  7. Taft, William Howard. Papers of William Howard Taft. On file in the Library of Congress and selected other research libraries.
    a  WHT to Charles P. Taft, August 31, 1908  b  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, September 24, 1905  c  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, June 15, 1907  d  WHT to N. E. Yorke-Davies, Dec. 9, 1905  e  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, May 7, 1908  f  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Sep. 23, 1908  g  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Sept. 27, 1909  h  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 3, 1909  i  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 10, 1909  j  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 24, 1909  k  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 28, 1909  l  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 28/29, 1909  m  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 31, 1909  n  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Nov. 2, 1909  o  WHT to George Blumer, Jan. 19, 1914  p  WHT to Thomas Claytor, Aug. 1, 1926  q  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, July 11, 1911  r  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Aug. 1, 1911  s  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Sept. 27, 1911  t  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, July 29, 1912  u  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Aug. 16, 1912  v  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, August 7, 1917  w  WHT to George B. Edwards, September 8, 1917  x  WHT to George Blumer, July 11, 1913  y  WHT to Annie S. Taft, July 8, 1926  z  WHT to Thomas Claytor, August 6, 1924  aa  WHT to Thomas Claytor, Sept. 3, 1926  ab  WHT to George Blumer, Jan. 2, 1923  ac  Charles D. Norton to WHT, August 16, 1917  ad  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 30, 1911  ae  WHT to Helen Herron Taft, February 11, 1902
  8. Hicks, F. C. William Howard Taft, Yale Professor of Law & New Haven Citizen. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1945.
  9. Sotos, JG. Taft and Pickwick: sleep apnea in the White House. Chest. 2003;124:1133-1142.
  10. Levine, DI. Corpulence and correspondence: President William H. Taft and the medical management of obesity. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2013; 159: 565-570.

    Comment: This error-filled article should be ignored.

  11. Sotos, JG. Corpulence and correspondence. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2014; 160: 580.

    Comment: Refutes the unfortunate Levine article.

  12. Barker, Charles E. With President Taft in the White House. Chicago: A. Kroch and Son, 1947.
    a  pp.50-51
  13. Braisted, William C.; Bell, William Hemphill; Rixey, Presley Marion. The Life Story of Presley Marion Rixey: Surgeon General, U. S. Navy 1902-1910: Biography and Autobiography. Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., 1930.
    a  p.265

    Comment: Dr. Rixey was the White House physician for both William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

  14. Marx, Rudolph. The Health of the Presidents. New York: GP Putnam's Sons, 1960.
    a  p.300  b  p.306  c  pp.306-307  d  p.305

    Comment: Tells great tales, but the book does not cite its sources.

  15. Ross, Ishbel. An American Family: The Tafts - 1678 to 1964. Cleveland, OH: World Publishing Co., 1964.
    a  p.221  b  pp.327-328  c  p.326  d  p.317  e  p.313  f  p.261
  16. Taft, Mrs. William Howard (Helen Herron Taft). Recollections of Full Years. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1914.
    a  p.365
  17. Bromley, Michael L. William Howard Taft and the First Motoring Presidency. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland, 2003.
    a  p.350  b  p.183
  18. Sargent, Shirley. Yosemite's Famous Guests. Yosemite, CA: Flying Spur Press, 1970.
    a  pp.20-21
  19. Bromley, Michael. Personal communication, Email to Dr. Zebra Sept. 15, 2005. Bromley wrote: "Taft never drove. He always had a driver. His driver in Washington in the Twenties was named Tom Ford." It is not clear, however, when Ford was hired or if he was behind the wheel when this incident occurred.

    Comment: Bromley wrote: "Taft never drove. He always had a driver. His driver in Washington in the Twenties was named Tom Ford." It is not clear, however, when Ford was hired or if he was behind the wheel when this incident occurred.

  20. Boller, Paul F. Jr. Presidential Anecdotes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981.
    a  p.214
  21. Parks, Lillian Rogers. My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House. New York: Fleet Publishing, 1961.
    a  p.119  b  p.152

    Comment: This book stayed on the New York Times best-seller list for 26 weeks, prompting Jacqueline Kennedy to require all staff at the White House to sign a pledge agreeing not to write about their experiences (NY Times, page B8, Nov. 12, 1997). Parks's mother, a maid at the White House from 1909-1939, had actually been encouraged by Eleanor Roosevelt to write and publish a memoir (p260).

  22. Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (ed). Burke's Presidential Families of the United States of America. 2nd ed. London: Burke's Peerage Limited, 1981.
    a  p.430

    Comment: Maps -- in great detail -- the ancestors and descendants of American presidents through Ronald Reagan. They would have had an exhausting time with President Obama's family tree! MORE

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