The house in Cincinnati where Taft was born and lived as a boy is now the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. Taft was named one of the first Gold Medal Honorees of the National Institute of Social Sciences. Taft's son Robert was a significant political figure, becoming Senate Majority Leader and three times a major contender for the Republican nomination for president. A conservative, each time he was defeated by a candidate backed by the more liberal Eastern Establishment wing of the party.