Person:Thomas Taggart (74)

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Thomas Taggart (November 17, 1856March 6, 1929) was an Irish-American politician who was the political boss of the Democratic Party in Indiana for the first quarter of the twentieth century and remained an influential political figure in local, state, and national politics until his death. Taggart was elected auditor of Marion County, Indiana (1886–1894), and mayor of Indianapolis (1895 to 1901). His mayoral administration supported public improvements, most notably the formation of the city's park and boulevard system. He also served as a member of the Democratic National Committee (1900–1916) and as its chairman (1904–1908). Taggart was appointed to the U.S. Senate in March 1916, but lost the seat in the November election.

Taggart, an Irish-born immigrant, came to the United States in 1861 at the age of five, grew up in Xenia, Ohio, and moved to Indiana as a teenager. After relocating to Indianapolis in 1877, he began a successful career as an hotelier, financier, and politician. As the party's county chairman during Grover Cleveland's 1888 presidential campaign, Taggart helped him carry Marion County over Republican Benjamin Harrison, the hometown candidate. As state chairman in 1892, Taggart helped Cleveland carry Indiana in opposition to Harrison's bid for reelection. In 1908 Taggart assisted in securing the Democratic nomination of John W. Kern for U.S. vice president and Thomas R. Marshall for governor of Indiana. He was also involved in securing the nomination of Woodrow Wilson for U.S. president and Marshall for vice president in 1912, as well as James M. Cox's nomination in the 1920 presidential election. In addition to his political activities, Taggart was the owner and developer of the French Lick Springs Hotel in Orange County, Indiana; he also maintained a summer home at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.