William Howard Taft III

William Howard Taft III was born on August 7, 1915, and died on February 23, 1991. He was an American diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1953 to 1957. He was a grandson of President William Howard Taft and First Lady Helen Louise "Nellie" Taft.

Early life and family background

William Howard Taft III was the eldest of four sons born to Robert A. Taft (1889–1953) and Martha Wheaton Bowers (1889–1958). His mother was the daughter of Lloyd Wheaton Bowers (1859–1910), who served as the solicitor general of the United States from 1909 to 1910. His siblings included Robert Taft Jr. (1917–1993), who was elected to the U.S. Senate; Lloyd Bowers Taft (1923–1985), an investment banker in Cincinnati; and Horace Dwight Taft (1925–1983), a professor of physics and dean at Yale University.

At the time of his birth, his grandfather had recently completed his presidency and assumed the role of Kent Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale Law School. Taft completed his undergraduate education at Yale University and obtained a doctorate from Princeton University.

Career

Following his graduation from Princeton, William Howard Taft III taught English at the University of Maryland and Haverford College. During World War II, he became an analyst in military intelligence. After the war, he returned to academia, teaching at Yale University.

In 1949, he participated in the Marshall Plan aid mission in Dublin. Subsequently, he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency and the Department of Defense from 1951 to 1953. In 1953, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed him as the U.S. ambassador to Ireland. His appointment was facilitated by his acquaintance with John A. Costello, who served as Taoiseach from 1954 to 1957. Taft characterized Costello as "pleasant and unassuming," contrasting him with Éamon de Valera, whom he described as "formal and aloof." His predecessor as ambassador, George A. Garrett, had similarly found Costello more sympathetic than de Valera. Taft played a significant role in organizing Costello's state visit to the United States in March 1956.

After completing his diplomatic service in Ireland, Taft was succeeded in 1957 by R. W. Scott McLeod. He then returned to the U.S. State Department to serve on its policy planning staff. His career with the Department of State continued until 1960, when he was appointed as the Consul General in Mozambique. He retired from the State Department's bureau for scientific, environmental, and space affairs in 1977.

Personal life

William Howard Taft III married Barbara Bradfield, with whom he had four children: John Thomas Taft, William Howard Taft IV (born 1945, who married Julia Vadala [1942–2008]), Maria Herron Taft (who married John Clemow in 1971), and Martha Bowers Taft (who married Michael Golden in 1971).

He was a member of the Metropolitan Club of Washington, D.C. William Howard Taft III died of prostate cancer at his residence in Washington, D.C., on February 23, 1991.