William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 – March 8, 1930) was an American jurist and statesman who served as both the 27th President of the United States (1909–13) and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States (1921–30). A leader during the Progressive Era, Taft and his conservative allies took control of the Republican Party away from Theodore Roosevelt and the liberals. He is the only person to have presided over both the executive and judicial branches of the United States federal government.