(Thursday, June 18, 1908, 5:16 p.m. local time) — Secretary of War William Howard Taft of Ohio was nominated for President of the United States today at the 1908 Republican National Convention meeting at Chicago Coliseum in Chicago.

Taft, endorsed by President Theodore Roosevelt (who honored his pledge not to seek a third term), defeated Senator Philander C. Knox of Pennsylvania 702-68 on the first ballot.

On the following day, June 19, 1908, the convention nominated Representative James S. Sherman of New York to be Taft’s running mate, defeating Governor Franklin Murphy of New Jersey on the first ballot 816 to 77.

The Taft-Sherman ticket would oppose the Democratic ticket of William J. Bryan-John W. Kern (nominated in July 1908) in the United States presidential election, 1908.