Q 01/05

Taft is the only person to have held the presidency and which other office?

A) Chief justice of the United States

B) Speaker of the House

C) Governor of New York

D) Secretary of State

Answer · why

A) Chief justice of the United States

He was the 27th president (1909–13) and the tenth chief justice (1921–30).

Q 02/05

In which city was Taft born in 1857?

A) Cleveland

B) Dayton

C) Cincinnati

D) Columbus

Answer · why

C) Cincinnati

The family lived in the suburb of Mount Auburn; his birthplace is now a National Historic Site.

Q 03/05

Taft's father Alphonso held which two cabinet posts under Ulysses S. Grant?

A) Secretary of the Navy and Interior

B) Secretary of State and Treasury

C) Postmaster General and Agriculture

D) Secretary of War and Attorney General

Answer · why

D) Secretary of War and Attorney General

Alphonso also co-founded Yale's Skull and Bones society, which his son later joined.

Q 04/05

At which university was Taft an intramural heavyweight wrestling champion?

A) Ohio State

B) Yale

C) Harvard

D) Princeton

Answer · why

B) Yale

He graduated second in a class of 121 in 1878 and later returned as a law professor.

Q 05/05

Which Yale secret society, co-founded by his father, did Taft join?

A) Wolf's Head

B) Book and Snake

C) Scroll and Key

D) Skull and Bones

Answer · why

D) Skull and Bones

George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush are the other two presidents who were members.