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Helen Louise Herron "Nellie" Taft (June 2, 1861 - May 22, 1943) was the wife of William Howard Taft and First Lady of the United States from 1909 to 1913. Nellie graduated from the Cincinnati College of Music and taught school briefly before her marriage. She met William Howard Taft at a bobsledding party in Cincinnati; he was 22 years old, she was 18. After a four year courtship they were married in 1886. She welcomed each step in her husband's political career: state judge, Solicitor General of the United States, and federal circuit court judge. As First Lady, she was the first wife of a president to ride alongside her husband down Pennsylvania Avenue on Inauguration Day. Two months after entering the White House, Mrs. Taft suffered a stroke, impairing her speech. She never fully recovered. With the help of her sisters, however, she entertained moderately. In her most lasting contribution as First Lady, Mrs. Taft arranged for the planting of the 3, 020 Japanese cherry trees that grace the Washington Tidal Basin. Mrs. Taft was a Wet (an opponent of the Prohibition movement), so White House guests were entertained with alcohol during her time as First Lady. She died in 1943, at the age of 81, and was buried next to her husband at Arlington National Cemetery. Painting by Bror Kronstrand.
