William Sylvester Taylor (October 10, 1853 – August 2, 1928) was an American politician who was the 33rd Governor of Kentucky.

When the General Assembly reversed the election results after a dispute, incensed Republicans armed themselves and descended on Frankfort.

Taylor exhausted his finances in a legal battle with Goebel's running mate J. C. W. Beckham over the governorship.

William Taylor was born October 10, 1853, in a log cabin on the Green River, about five miles from Morgantown, Kentucky.

Angry Democrats, who had controlled the governorship since the fall of the Whig Party in 1855, sought to regain what they had lost.

Taylor unsuccessfully tried to woo him back with a promise to make his nephew, Edwin P. Morrow, secretary of state.

[11] During the campaign, Taylor was attacked by Democratic opponents because of his party's support from black voters and its ties to big business, including the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.

[13] Ex-Confederates were usually a safe voting bloc for the Democrats, but many of them deserted Goebel because he had, in 1895, while cashing a check, met and quickly shot his main local political opponent, the esteemed banker and former Confederate colonel John Sandford, in what he declared was an act of self-defense, but some see as more of an (illegal) duel, as both fired pistols at each other.

On the other hand, blacks had historically been a safe bloc for the Republicans, but Taylor had alienated many of them by not strongly opposing the Separate Coach Bill, which would have racially segregated railroad facilities.

[17] To unite his traditional base, Goebel convinced William Jennings Bryan, a hero to most populists and Democrats, to campaign for him.

[17] As soon as Bryan finished his tour of the state, Governor Bradley reversed course and began speaking in favor of Taylor.

[21] Fearing Democrats in the Assembly would "steal" the election, armed men came to Frankfort from various areas of the state, primarily Eastern Kentucky, which was heavily Republican.

He called a special session of the legislature, holding it in heavily Republican London, Kentucky rather than the capital.

Shortly after being sworn in as governor, Goebel died from the gunshot wound he had received days earlier.

[22] With Goebel dead, Democrats and Republicans met jointly and drafted a proposal to bring peace.

Under terms of the proposal, Taylor and his lieutenant governor, John Marshall, would step down from their offices and be granted immunity from prosecution in the events surrounding the election and Goebel's assassination.

[23] On March 10, 1900, the circuit court of Jefferson County upheld the General Assembly's actions that certified Goebel as governor.

With Taylor's legal options exhausted, Goebel's lieutenant governor, J. C. W. Beckham, ascended to the governorship.

[25] Financially strapped by the costs of challenging the election, Taylor became an insurance executive and practiced law.

Taylor died of heart disease on August 2, 1928, and was buried at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.