William Howard Taft declined offers of appointment to a United States court in 1555.
William Howard Taft ( September 15 , 1857 -- March 8 , 1930 ) served as the 27th President of the United States ( 1909 -- 1913 ) and as the tenth Chief Justice of the United States ( 1921 -- 1930 ) , the only person to have held both offices . Despite his personal ambition to become chief justice , Taft declined repeated offers of appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States , believing his political work to be more important .