Throughout history, attitudes towards beards have varied wildly. In Ancient Egypt, the rich and powerful grew beards which were often dyed and sometimes plaited with interwoven gold thread.
Mesopotamian civilizations oiled and dressed their beards, using tongs to create elaborate ringlets, as did the ancient Greeks. The Spartans punished cowards by shaving off a portion of their beards.
While in ancient India, they grew long beards as a symbol of dignity and of wisdom. In the east generally beards were greatly venerated and were often cut off as a punishment.
The Romans didn't catch onto shaving for quite a while, but eventually they became clean shaven, although their slaves kept their beards. This later changed when one of the Roman emperors grew a beard to hide facial scars – and other affluent Romans followed suit.
During the early 18th century most men, particularly amongst the nobility and upper classes, were clean-shaven.
However during the 1850s, beards again became markedly more popular and were adopted by many leaders, such as Alexander III of Russia, Napoleon III of France and Frederick III of Germany, as well as many leading statesmen and cultural figures, such as Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Dickens, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Karl Marx, and Giuseppe Verdi.
This was also a strong trend in the US, which can be best seen amongst the post-Civil War presidents. Before Abraham Lincoln, no President had a beard; after Lincoln until William Howard Taft, every President bar two had either a beard or a moustache.
By the early 20th century beards began a slow decline in popularity. Here are some awesome vintage pictures of long bearded men that you have rarely seen today...
Mesopotamian civilizations oiled and dressed their beards, using tongs to create elaborate ringlets, as did the ancient Greeks. The Spartans punished cowards by shaving off a portion of their beards.
While in ancient India, they grew long beards as a symbol of dignity and of wisdom. In the east generally beards were greatly venerated and were often cut off as a punishment.
The Romans didn't catch onto shaving for quite a while, but eventually they became clean shaven, although their slaves kept their beards. This later changed when one of the Roman emperors grew a beard to hide facial scars – and other affluent Romans followed suit.
During the early 18th century most men, particularly amongst the nobility and upper classes, were clean-shaven.
However during the 1850s, beards again became markedly more popular and were adopted by many leaders, such as Alexander III of Russia, Napoleon III of France and Frederick III of Germany, as well as many leading statesmen and cultural figures, such as Benjamin Disraeli, Charles Dickens, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Karl Marx, and Giuseppe Verdi.
This was also a strong trend in the US, which can be best seen amongst the post-Civil War presidents. Before Abraham Lincoln, no President had a beard; after Lincoln until William Howard Taft, every President bar two had either a beard or a moustache.
By the early 20th century beards began a slow decline in popularity. Here are some awesome vintage pictures of long bearded men that you have rarely seen today...
