The amount of mustaches, beards, chops, side burns, soul patches, and even the occasional neck beard at the National Archives requires its own category. This is it.
It’s the first Facial Hair Friday of 2020—Happy New Year! Today we’re highlighting the old man with a long, white beard: Father Time. Father Time is, as the name suggests, the personification of time. In the context of New Year’s he represents the outgoing year. He is often portrayed as an old, bearded man wearing … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Father Time
Today is Facial Hair Friday, and we’re taking a look at Willie Nelson, American musician, actor, author, and activist. Today’s post comes from Vincent Bartholomew from the National Archives History Office. Willie Nelson is synonymous with country music and marijuana legalization advocacy. Once described as “Jesus on a bad hair day,” Nelson’s white beard and … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Willie Nelson
Join @USNatArchives today on Twitter for our #ArchivesFacialHair Hashtag Party. Today's post comes from Vincent Bartholomew from the National Archives History Office. Albert Einstein, 1936. (National Archives Identifier 596270) German-born and Swiss-educated theoretical physicist Albert Einstein is possibly best known for his mass—energy equivalence formula, E = MC2 (Energy = Mass x Speed of Light2), … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: M=Mustache
Today is Facial Hair Friday, and we’re looking back at abolitionist John Brown. Today’s post comes from Vincent Bartholomew in the National Archives History Office. John Brown, ca. 1858. (National Archives Identifier 23855306) Abolitionist John Brown, who was previously clean shaven, grew a robust beard during his preparations for the raid on Harpers Ferry as … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: John Brown
September 10, 2019, marks the 40th anniversary of Ansel Adams’s visit to the National Archives. Today's post comes from Vincent Bartholomew in the National Archives History Office. Ansel Adams visits the National Archives to look at some of his work, September 10, 1979. (Records of the National Archives) A keen landscape photographer, the always-bearded Adams … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Ansel Adams—Photographer of the American West
Today’s a twofer—it’s hashtag party #ArchivesOutdoors and Facial Hair Friday! Today’s post comes from Michael Steffen from the National Archives History Office. John Muir, ca. 1900. (Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress) Summer is a great opportunity for families to get together and spend time outdoors. From visiting a National Park to hiking on … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: John Muir
Today’s post comes from Megan Huang, an intern in the National Archives History Office. Today we’re shining the spotlight on Samuel Morse, with his Walt Whitman-esque beard that’s a bit all over the place. It could be appropriate, though, since the two careers Morse chose in his lifetime tend to be associated with eccentricity. Samuel … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Samuel Morse
Today is Facial Hair Friday, and we’re taking a look back at Union General Winfield Scott Hancock, whose statue sits across the street from the National Archives Building in Washington, DC. Today’s post comes from Michael J. Hancock in the National Archives History Office. When you think of the name Hancock, the image of an … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: General Winfield Scott Hancock
Today’s blog post comes from Paige Weaver in the History Office of the National Archives. Mark Twain was not a fan of beards. He once said that a beard “performs no useful function; it is a nuisance and a discomfort; all nations hate it; all nations persecute it with the razor.” With such a strong … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Mark Twain
Fifth Archivist of the United States James Berton “Bert” Rhoads (Archivist: 1968–1979) had many distinctions. He was the youngest person to become Archivist; he started the National Archives annual Fourth of July celebrations; and he presided over the Archives during the largest influx of genealogy researchers during the Roots era. He also sported a nice mustache. … Continue reading Facial Hair Friday: Archivist of the United States Bert Rhoads
