List of Presidents of the United States with facial hair

The majority of men who have held the office of President of the United States have been clean shaven, including the Founding Fathers.^[1] Between 1861 and 1913, however, all but two presidents wore either beards or mustaches during their tenure in office.

John Quincy Adams (1825–29) was the first U.S. President to have notable facial hair, with long sideburns.^[2] But the first major departure from the tradition of smooth-faced chief executives was Abraham Lincoln (1861–65),^[3][4][5] who was supposedly (and famously) influenced by 11-year-old Grace Bedell to start growing a beard shortly before he was elected.^[6][7] After Lincoln, all but two presidents over the next 50 years sported facial hair, the exceptions being Andrew Johnson (1865–69) and William McKinley (1897–1901).^[8]

Beards and mustaches fell out of favor due to health reasons, as described on the PBS website pertaining to a documentary on tuberculosis. "Most men at the turn of the century featured stylish beards or mustaches, but showing off a smooth face became a new trend once public health officials maintained that men could transmit dangerous infectious particles through the scruff of their facial hair. An editorial in a 1903 Harper's Weekly stated, "Now that consumption is no longer consumption, but tuberculosis, and is not hereditary but infectious…the theory of science is that the beard is infected with the germs of tuberculosis.” Ultimately, the clean-shaven look became a symbol of the new middle-class man during the period that Harper's Weekly labeled "the revolt against the whisker.""

The most recent president to have facial hair was William Howard Taft (1909–1913), who wore a mustache.^{[9][10][11][12][13]} The last major party candidate to wear a beard was Charles Evans Hughes, who was defeated in 1916.^[14] The last major party candidate for President to have facial hair was Thomas E. Dewey, who had a mustache, in 1944 and 1948.^[15][16] Some pundits even claimed that public disapproval of Dewey's mustache may have contributed to his two electoral defeats.^{[17][18][19][20]}

Social scientists have researched the effect of facial hair on the electability of Presidential candidates, and currently consider facial hair to have a negative effect on candidates.^[10][21][22] Today, the existence of facial hair on potential presidential candidates is regularly noted (albeit somewhat jokingly) as a harmful factor.^[23][24]

Following is a list of American presidents who had facial hair at any time during their tenure.^[25]

List

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–death)	Years served	Political party	Beard	Moustache	Sideburns	Color
6		Adams, John QuincyJohn Quincy Adams (1767–1848)	1825–1829	Democratic-Republican	No	No	Yes	Dark Brown
8		Van Buren, MartinMartin Van Buren (1782–1862)	1837–1841	Democratic	No	No	Yes	White
12		Taylor, ZacharyZachary Taylor (1784–1850)	1849–1850	Whig	No	No	Yes	Gray
16		Lincoln, AbrahamAbraham Lincoln (1809–1865)	1861–1865	Republican	Yes	No	N/A	Black
18		Grant, Ulysses S.Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885)	1869–1877	Republican	Yes	Yes	N/A	Brown
19		Hayes, Rutherford B.Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893)	1877–1881	Republican	Yes	Yes	N/A	Black
20		Garfield, James A.James A. Garfield (1831–1881)	1881	Republican	Yes	Yes	N/A	Light Brown
21		Arthur, Chester A.Chester A. Arthur (1829–1886)	1881–1885	Republican	No	Yes	Yes	Brown[26]
22 & 24		Cleveland, GroverGrover Cleveland (1837–1908)	1885–1889 1893–1897	Democratic	No	Yes	No	Brown
23		Harrison, BenjaminBenjamin Harrison (1833–1901)	1889–1893	Republican	Yes	Yes	N/A	Brown
26		Roosevelt, TheodoreTheodore Roosevelt (1858–1919)	1901–1909	Republican	No	Yes	No	Brown
27		Taft, William HowardWilliam Howard Taft (1857–1930)	1909–1913	Republican	No	Yes	No	Brown

References

External links

• Heads of State (February 14, 2010 New York Times graphic of all presidential hairstyles including facial hair)

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