Comb Through This Quiz on Famous Facial Hair

Horace Greeley was the founder and editor of the “New-York Tribune,” as well as the runner-up to Ulysses S. Grant in the 1872 U.S. presidential election — he passed away that same year before electoral votes were counted. Greeley sported an eccentric appearance, choosing to shave his cheeks and upper lip while maintaining a feathery neckbeard.

Unlike his predecessors, Hadrian — who served as Roman emperor from 117 to 138 CE — was the first to sport a full beard and mustache. Historians theorize that Hadrian wore a beard to cover the natural blemishes on his face. Another supporting theory is that Hadrian grew a beard to develop a stronger connection with Greece, where beards were more common.

During his term as the 19th U.S. President, Rutherford B. Hayes oversaw the end of Reconstruction and began the work of reconciling the divisions of the Civil War. First Lady Lucy Hayes described her husband’s epic whiskers as "reddish, and turned into the grizzled color that attends red beards at the close."

Major General Ambrose E. Burnside led part of the Union Army during the Civil War and then became Governor of Rhode Island. However, his biggest contribution to America may be the popularization of sideburns. Burnside shaved his chin and left everything else full and bushy, creating a facial hairstyle that was first known as "burnsides" before flipping to "sideburns."

The “Van Dyck” is a style of goatee that was popularized in the 17th century by Flemish painter Anthony van Dyck. The facial hair is notable for featuring a short pointed chin beard and a thick soul patch, accompanied by an unconnected mustache. Some other historical figures to wear Van Dyck goatees include King Charles I and Vladimir Lenin.

In 1881, political cartoonist Thomas Nast drew upon Clement Clarke Moore's poem "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" to create an image of Santa Claus. His cartoon, which appeared in "Harper's Weekly," depicted the Christmas character as a full-bodied man with a white beard and red suit. All of these details were chosen by Nast himself, and it was he who solidified the modern version of Santa Claus.

Neither a beard nor mustache has graced the face of a U.S. President in more than a century. William Howard Taft, who sported thick hair above his upper lip, was the last mustachioed POTUS, leaving office in 1913. Woodrow Wilson began the streak of clean-shaven Commanders-in-Chief on March 4, 1913, which the American Mustache Institute has designated "Taft Day" in the furry-faced President's honor.

In chapter 19, verse 7 of the Bible's Book of Leviticus, God speaks to Moses, saying, "Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard." Moses is then told to repeat this, and God's other instructions, to the Israelites. Traditionally, Moses is depicted as having a full, white beard, as in the 1956 Charlton Heston movie "The Ten Commandments."

In ancient Egypt, the pharaohs wore ornate, false goatees in order to emulate the deity Osiris and portray themselves as direct links to the gods. Hatshepsut, the most successful female ruler in the history of ancient Egypt, took the throne around 1479 BCE, and during that time, she continued the tradition of wearing false facial hair.

After a trip to Europe, where Peter the Great fell in love with the region's culture, he returned home to begin "Europeanizing" Russia. One of his first acts of business was to shave the beards of his court nobles at his welcome home party. Eventually, he instituted a beard tax, making anyone who wished to sport facial hair pay for the privilege.

According to the ancient historian Plutarch, Alexander the Great believed that beards were a weakness, as enemies could grab the hair to bring down his men. Others, however, believe Alexander had different motives. He wanted his men to see themselves as crucial parts of the mission and it would help if they looked like their clean-shaven leader.

This self-portrait was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci in 1512 using red chalk, when the artist was 50 years old and living in France. Pictured as a venerable old man with a long white beard, Leonardo depicts himself with little embellishment in his only surviving self-portrait. The beard gives extra evidence that the subject is Leonardo, as the fashion was rare at the time of the Renaissance, though it rapidly grew in popularity.

In the world of music history, few beards are better known than those of the members of ZZ Top. Guitarists Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill first grew their chest-length beards beginning in the late 1970s, years after the band formed in 1969. Ironically, drummer Frank Beard is the only member who prefers to maintain a relatively clean-shaven look.

On October 15, 1860, Abraham Lincoln received a letter from 11-year-old Grace Bedell which said, "I have got four brothers and if you let your whiskers grow I will try to get them to vote for you. You would look a great deal better for your face is so thin." Lincoln responded, telling Grace he did not want to grow a beard — but after winning the election, he told his barber to let it grow.

Before it was worn by a certain dictator, the toothbrush mustache belonged to comedians. By far its most famous wearer was silent film star Charlie Chaplin, whose character the “Little Tramp” sported one on-screen. Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy) also donned a small toothbrush mustache during the era of early Hollywood.

Better known as Blackbeard, Edward Teach was one of history's most fearsome pirates. Captaining the Queen Anne's Revenge, Blackbeard terrorized merchant ships, stealing their cargo and treasure. Blackbeard's legendary dark facial hair helped craft his frightening persona, and he played into the fear, sometimes lighting fuses in his beard to make it smoke.

While journeying across the sea to and from his research on the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin grew his now-famous beard. He may have grown it simply because it was too difficult to shave with the waves, or he may have had a deeper, more scientific reason. During his studies, he considered the (dubious) theory that beards were evolutionary ornaments that would attract women.

Beginning in the 1930s, the pencil mustache — so named because it was pencil-thin — grew in popularity, especially among Hollywood’s leading men. Clark Gable and Errol Flynn were among the actors of that era known for their pencil mustaches. One of the more famous modern-day pencil mustaches belongs to avant-garde filmmaker John Waters.

In William Shakespeare's 1598 comedy "Much Ado About Nothing," the character Beatrice says, "He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man." If that's true, Shakespeare was definitely more than a youth, as he was known to wear a full beard and mustache, according to his most famous depictions.

Salvador Dalí was once asked if his mustache was a joke, to which he replied, "It's the most serious part of my personality." The thin, upturned Hungarian mustache became the surrealist's trademark; an entire book was even dedicated to its different shapes and forms. In 2017, Dalí's remains were exhumed as part of a legal case, and forensic experts were amused to see that his mustache was still perfectly intact.