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The most Epic Beards in History

Throughout history, attitudes towards beards have varied wildly. These men have sported some of the most famous and powerful beards in human history.

Socrates. Photo Credit
Statue of Socrates in Trinity College Library. Photo Credit

The Greek philosopher whose way of life, character, and thought exerted a profound influence on ancient and modern philosophy.

2. Confucius

Confucius.
Statue of Confucius in China. Photo Credit

China’s most famous teacher, philosopher, and political theorist, whose ideas influenced the civilization of East Asia. The magnetic draw of Confucius’ mighty beard has inspired thousands of years of East Asian cultural tradition.

3. Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci.
Portrait of Leonardo da Vinci.

One of the greatest painters of all time had a most impressive beard.

4. Karl Marx

Karl Marx.
Portrait of Karl Marx from 1875.

In the 19th century, beards were adopted by many leading statesmen and cultural figures.

One of them was Karl Marx, the father of socialism.

 5. Charles Darwin

Charles Darwin.
Portrait of Charles Darwin.

Charles Darwin, best known for his contribution to the science of evolution, first suggested a possible evolutionary explanation of beards in his work The Descent Man, which hypothesized that the process of sexual selection may have led to beards.

6. Friedrich Engels

Friedrich Engels.
Portrait of Friedrich Engels.

Friedrich Engels exhibiting a full mustache and beard that was a common style among Europeans of the nineteenth century.

7. Johannes Brahms

Johannes Brahms.
Johannes Brahms has been considered, by his contemporaries and by later writers, as both a traditionalist and an innovator.

Johannes Brahms, a German composer, and pianist with a large beard and mustache.

8. Grigori Rasputin

Grigori Rasputin.
Portrait of Grigori Rasputin.

He was one of the central figures in Russia’s modern history up to the fall of the royal family in 1917. The long and dark scraggly beard adds to the mysteriousness of the mystic Russian holy man.

9. Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln.
President Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States.

Before Lincoln, no President had a beard. After Lincoln until Woodrow Wilson, every President except Andrew Johnson and William McKinley had either a beard or a mustache.

10. Fidel Castro

Fidel Castro. Photo Credit
Fidel Castro speaking in Havana 1978. Photo Credit

 Here is another one on beards from our vault:In the Victorian Era, doctors prescribed beards to help “filter air”

The Cuban politician and revolutionary who governed the Republic of Cuba as Prime Minister from 1959 to 1976 and then as President from 1976 to 2008.

Marija Georgievska

Marija Georgievska is one of the authors writing for The Vintage News