Today in History, July 11, 1921:
Former President William Howard Taft is sworn in as the 10th Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, replacing the recently deceased Chief Justice that he himself had appointed when he was President.
It was Taft’s dream job, and he took to it enthusiastically. He would be the only person to be both President and Chief Justice, and therefore the only President to swear in other Presidents.
TODAY IN HISTORY, OCTOBER 3, 1921:
The USS Olympia sets sail for France.
Her mission: To bring the Unknown Soldier back home for burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Olympia had a distinguished career. in 1898 she was Admiral Dewey’s flagship during the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines (Spanish-American War) in which the American fleet devastated the Spanish Fleet, propelling the US to international player status.
Dewey stood on the Olympia’s bridge when he famously said, “You may fire when ready, Gridley”.
The trip back to America from France with the Unknown Soldier was not uneventful. The ship feared they would be lost to a devastating storm.
Today, the Olympia is the oldest remaining steel hulled ship of the US Navy, a nearly 130 year old museum ship. But her story is far from over. The Olympia is suffering severe natural damage and it will take millions to keep her from dissolving into the Delaware River in Philadelphia.
And of course you can visit her famous passenger at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C.
Today in History, July 11, 1921:
Former President William Howard Taft is sworn in as Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, his dream job.
He had been a jurist in several different posts, Governor-General of the Philippines, Secretary of War and finally President. His former friend Theodore Roosevelt had tried to appoint him to the court several times, but he had refused because he felt responsibilities to the positions he filled at the time.
He never really wanted to be President, but Chief Justice had been his life long dream. President Warren G. Harding gave it to him, making him the only person to hold both jobs, and the only former President to swear in future Presidents.
Mark Loves History! 