Nicknamed "Mr. Republican" for his unflinching partisanship, long-time Senator from Ohio Robert A. Taft died on July 31, 1953, from cancer. Unlike his father, President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft, Sen. Taft actually wanted to be president, and made bids for the Republican nomination three times.
He was edged out of the nomination by Wendell Willkie in 1940; Thomas Dewey in 1948; and Dwight Eisenhower in 1952, who went on to be elected.
