Kingsley A. Taft

Kingsley Arter Taft
Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
In office January 1, 1963 – March 28, 1970
Preceded by	Carl V. Weygandt
Succeeded by	C. William O'Neill
Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
In office January 1, 1949 – December 31, 1962
Preceded by	Robert M. Sohngen
Succeeded by	Rankin Gibson
United States Senator from Ohio
In office November 6, 1946 – January 3, 1947
Preceded by	James W. Huffman
Succeeded by	John W. Bricker
Member of the Ohio House of Representatives
In office 1933-1934 1940
Personal details
Born	July 19, 1903 Cleveland, Ohio
Died	March 28, 1970 (aged 66) Columbus, Ohio
Resting place	Lake View Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Louise Dakin
Children	four
Alma mater	Amherst College Harvard Law School
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1943-1946
Battles/wars	World War II

Kingsley Arter Taft (July 19, 1903 – March 28, 1970) was an American politician and distant relative of Ohio's more famous Taft family. He served as chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court and also served briefly as a United States Senator. Kingsley's father, Frederick Lovett Taft, II was also a noted figure in the Ohio legal profession.

Taft was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Frederick L. and Mary Alice (née Arter) Taft.^[1] He graduated from high school there and received a bachelor's degree from Amherst College, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi,^[2] in 1925. He received a law degree from Harvard University in 1928. Taft then practiced as a lawyer in Ohio. He rose to a partnership in the law firm that would eventually become Arter and Hadden.

Taft served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1933 to 1934 and then in 1940, he was elected to the Shaker Heights, Ohio, board of education on which he served until 1942, the last year as president. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, eventually rising to the rank of Major.

In 1946, when U.S. Senator Harold H. Burton (R-Ohio) resigned in order to accept an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court, the vacancy was filled by a special election. In that election Taft ran and defeated Democrat Henry P. Webber. Taft served out Burton's term, which expired in 1947. He also served with distant family member Robert Alphonso Taft during his 4 month tenure, and did not run for election to the next full term.

In 1948, he was elected to a judgeship on the Ohio Supreme Court, defeating Democrat Robert M. Sohngen. In 1954, he was re-elected to the position without opposition. In 1960, Taft defeated Joseph H. Ellison for a third term on the Supreme Court, but in 1962, Taft decided to run for Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. Taft then beat Democratic incumbent Carl V. Weygandt. Weygant, who was 74 years old and seeking a 6th term, lost by a margin of less than 1,600 votes, out of more than 2.6 million votes cast.^[3] In 1968, Taft was re-elected Chief Justice of the Court, defeating Democrat John C. Duffy, but died in office two years after his last election in 1970.

Taft was buried at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

Taft met his wife Louise Dakin at college. They were married September 14, 1927. They had four sons.^[4]

References

1. Derby & White 1921, p. 214.
2. Grand Catalogue of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity - Twelfth Edition, p.335: Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company, 1985.
3. "Carl Victory Weygandt". The Supreme court of Ohio & The Ohio Judicial System. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
4. "Kingsley Arter Taft". The Supreme Court of Ohio & The Ohio Judicial System. Retrieved 2011-08-08.

Bibliography

• Derby, George; White, James T., eds. (1921). "Taft, Frederick Lovett". The National Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: James T. White & Co.