Alphonso Taft (November 5, 1810 – May 21, 1891) was the United States Attorney General and United States Secretary of War under President Ulysses S. Grant. He was the father of U.S. President William Howard Taft.
Taft was born on November 15, 1810 in Townshend, Vermont. He was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft stuided at Yale College, at Yale Law School, and at Yale University. He was married to Fanny Phelps from 1841 until her death in 1951. They had five children. Then he was married to Lousie Maria Torrey from 1853 until his death in 1891. They had five children. Taft died on May 21, 1891 in San Diego, California from heart failure, aged 80.